elements of english law

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Elements of English Law Question 1 The basic rule of common law systems is that precedents are binding. The main element of common law is case law. Case law is based on decisions in cases which have been heard in court, and these recorded decisions, form an important primary source of contract law. These decisions act as a precedent for future cases taken to court. The precedents are set by courts with higher authority, for example the House of Lords. The courts have to follow the precedents set by the courts above them. “As Park CJ said in Mirehouse v Rennell , ‘Precedent must be adhered to for the sake of developing the law as a science’.” In decided cases, judges have to know what to take as precedent, so as to find the ratio decidendi. Cases must follow precedent when their material facts are the same. The judge then takes the principle defined in the ratio and uses it to reach his decision, along with the reasons for doing so. In the case of Household Fire Insurance Company v Grant the court decided that the letter of acceptance took effect when it was posted, the reason behind this principle was that the Post Office was the common agent for both parties. The ratio decidendi of a case may not be the decision the judge deciding the case would have chosen, but one that had already been approved by other judges. Some things said by the judge (his/her remarks) in passing, obiter dicta, have no “binding force” but may be persuasive. Most precedents are binding, this depends on the level of the court where the decision was reached. Firstly, there is the House of Lords, this court is bound by its own decisions unless where the previous decision was made per incuriam. However, in July 1966, the Lord Chancellor announced that the House of Lords previous decisions were no longer binding upon itself, only courts on lower levels. They still require lawyers who
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