Zusammenfassung der Ressource
THE DOCTRINE OF JUDICIAL
PRECEDENT ( part 1 )
- A doctrine whereby judges are bound to
follow earlier, similar decisions made by
a higher court or court of equal
standings
- VERTICAL PRECEDENT
- A court lower down in the
hierarchy is bound to follow a
decision of a court higher up in
the hierarchy
- HORIZONTAL PRECEDENT
- Extent to which a court
at the same level is
bound to follow their
own previous decisions
- PERSUASIVE PRECEDENT
- Precedent a judge may choose to follow
- BINDING PRECEDENT
- Precedent a judge is bound to follow
- OVER RULE- Process by which courts declare that the previous
precedent is no longer good law
- REVERSED- Judge in higher count goes back to previous
decision of lower court
- ADVANTAGES
- Saves time - applies previous, applicable decision
- Practical - facts / outcome is already known
- System is more efficient
- DISADVANTAGES
- Rigid
- Stagnates the development of law
- Injustice - not all cases are
exactly alike
- RATIO DECIDENDI - Any rule of law expressly
or impliedly treated by the judge as a
necessasy step in reaching his conclusion,
having regard to the line of reasoning adopted
by him
- OBITER DICTA - Things said by the way, which are
not essential to the case