4.1 Introduction You cannot cite precedents to a judge and ask him or her to follow them if you don't have a good record of all the earlier cases and how they were decided. The operation of binding precedent, therefore, relies on the existence of an extensive reporting service to provide access to previous judicial decisions. This section will briefly set out where you might locate case reports on particular areas of the law. This is of particular importance to advocates (usually barristers but s
3.5 Summary of Part B In Part B you have learned that: the system of precedent requires later courts to use the same reasoning as an earlier court, where two cases raise the same legal issues; the contents of a case report can be divided into two categories:
ratio decidendi – the statement of legal principles essential to the decision. The ratio is the binding element of the case
3.4.3 Summary of binding precedent In this section you have seen: that not everything in a court case sets a precedent the difference between ratio decidendi (the statement of legal principles material to the decision) and obiter dictum (the discussion of legal principles raised in argument but not material to the decision) that the binding element in a future case is the ratio and that, while the obiter will never be bindin
3.4.2 Distinguishing In comparison with the mechanism of overruling, which is rarely used, the main device for avoiding binding precedent is that of distinguishing. As has been previously stated, the ratio decidendi of any case is based upon the material facts of the case. This opens up the possibility that a court may regard the facts of the case before it as significantly different from the facts of a cited precedent, so it will not find itself bound to follow that precedent. Judges use the device of dis
3.4.1 Overruling Overruling is the procedure whereby a court higher up in the hierarchy sets aside a legal ruling established in a previous case. It is strange that, within the system of stare decisis, precedents gain increased authority with the passage of time. As a consequence, courts tend to be reluctant to overrule longstanding authorities even though they may no longer accurately reflect contemporary practices or morals. While old principles are not usually good in dentistry or computer sci
3.4 Binding precedent Not everything in a court case sets a precedent. The contents of a case report can be divided into two categories: 1. The reason for the decision – ratio decidendi The ratio decidendi of a case is not the actual decision, like ‘guilty’ or ‘the defendant is liable to pay compensation’. The precedent is set by the rule of law used by the judge or judges in deciding the legal problem raised by the facts
3.3.6 Summary of the system of precedent The basis of the system of precedent is the principle of stare decisis and this requires a later court to use the same reasoning as an earlier court where the two cases raise the same legal issues. For example: House of Lords’ decisions are binding on all other courts in the legal system, except the House of Lords itself. The Court of Appeal is bound by previous decisions of the House of Lords. The Court of Appeal generally i
3.3.5 The High Court The High Court is also bound by the decisions of superior courts. Decisions by individual High Court judges are binding on courts inferior in the hierarchy, but such decisions are not binding on other High Court judges, although they are of strong persuasive authority and tend to be followed in practice. It is possible, however, for High Court judges to disagree and for them to reach different conclusions as to the law in a particular area. The question then becomes – how is a later High Co
3.3.4 Divisional courts The legal terminology for these courts is not very straightforward! The High Court is divided into three ‘divisions’, each one dealing with different sorts of cases – the Family Division, the Chancery Division (that deals with property and money cases) and the Queen's Bench Division (that deals with cases involving things like contracts and negligence). Each of these divisions, however, also has the capacity to act as a court to hear appeals from lower courts and, when the judges s
3.3.3 The Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal is always bound by previous decisions of the House of Lords. The Court of Appeal generally is also bound by its own previous decisions. There are, however, a number of exceptions to this general rule. Lord Greene MR listed these exceptions in Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd (1944). 3.3.2 The styling of legal cases Activity 8 asks you to read Reading 1 – a short extract from The English Legal System (Slapper and Kelly, 2003) – and identify what you consider are the advantages of allowing the House of Lords to overrule its previous decisions. This extract provides you with examples of instances when the House of Lords has not followed its own previous decisions. This may be the first time you have read the name of a legal case. Case names are written in a particular style. For example, t 3.3.1 Supreme Court of the United Kingdom This is the highest appeal court in the UK and was created by the Constitutional Reform Act 20045. The court became operational on 1 October 2009. Generally permission to appeal must be sought before a case can be brought to the UK Supreme Court. As the highest court of appeal it hears matters which involve points of law of general public importance and concentrates on cases of the greatest public and constitutional importance. Its decisions are binding on all courts lower in the court Newsmaker Highlight: Florence Eid, President, Arabia Monitor Tech Crew: Assemble! Carried interest is a "bumper sticker" issue: Carlyle Group co-founder Newsmaker Highlight: His Excellency Amani Abeid Karume, Former President, Zanzibar 5.3 Accessibility 5.2 Usability principles 3 What does the data tell us? 2 What data is available?
Florence Eid, President, Arabia Monitor discusses the impact of Arab investment in North Africa.
...from the Tech Crew Alliance comes... "a short but concise guide to the touring industry" - a powerful piece of documentary footage. (10:00)
Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein says carried interest isn't significant enough to affect debt, the deficit or overall tax reform.
His Excellency Amani Abeid Karume, Former President, Zanzibar, discusses Africa's demographics.
www……..gov.uk You can now access government directly through the web. E-government in action. While studying this unit you look at the scope of e-government, the databases that are necessary, the use of biometrics in identification and verification of identity and assess the usability and accessibility of websites.
www……..gov.uk You can now access government directly through the web. E-government in action. While studying this unit you look at the scope of e-government, the databases that are necessary, the use of biometrics in identification and verification of identity and assess the usability and accessibility of websites.
Target setting for pupil attainment is seen as being a means of raising standards in schools through placing pupil achievement at the core of school planning. This unit will help governors of secondary schools ensure that appropriate targets are set and provide guidance on assessing the data that needs to be evaluated to come to such decisions.
Target setting for pupil attainment is seen as being a means of raising standards in schools through placing pupil achievement at the core of school planning. This unit will help governors of secondary schools ensure that appropriate targets are set and provide guidance on assessing the data that needs to be evaluated to come to such decisions.
