Judicial Precedent Essay

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Judicial Precedent is best understood as a practice of the courts and not as a set of binding rules. As a practice it could be redefined or changed by the courts as they wish.’ Discuss A judicial precedent is a decision of the court used as a source for future decision making. This is known as stare decisis (to stand upon decisions) and by which precedents are authoritative and binding and must be followed. In giving judgment in a case, the judge will set out the facts of the case, state the law applicable to the facts and then provide his or her decision. It is only the ratio decidendi (the legal reasoning or ground for the judicial decision) which is binding on later courts under the system of judicial precedent. A single decision of a superior court is absolutely binding on subsequent inferior courts. However, certain of the superior courts regard themselves as bound by their own decisions whilst others do not. 1. Decisions of the House of Lords bind all other courts but the House does not regard itself as strictly bound by its previous decisions, for example, in Murphy v Brentwood District Council (1990) the House elected to overrule its earlier decision in Anns v London Borough of Merton (1978) on the issue of a local authority's liability in negligence to future purchasers of property. 2. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, holds itself bound by its previous decisions: Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd (1944) but in that case also identified three exceptional cases where it would disregard its own previous decision. These are (i) where two Court of Appeal decisions conflict; (ii) if the decision although not expressly overruled conflicts with a later decision of the House of Lords; and (iii) if the earlier decision was given per incuriam (through want of care) however it cannot ignore a decision of the House of Lords on the same basis. 3. Divisional
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