AVOIDING A BINDING PRECEDENT Flashcards
1
Q
DISTINGUISHING
a case is…
A
- distinguished where the material facts of the case are significantly different from the earlier case
2
Q
DISTINGUISHING
the judge…
A
- must find important differences between the two cases so a new precedent can be created
3
Q
DISTINGUISHING
Balfour v Balfour
A
- husband promised wife £30
- wife sued husband for breach of contract
- court refused to recognise that agreements between married couples carried intention to be legally boundn
4
Q
DISTINGUISHING
Merrit v Merrit
A
-court willing to recognise that a contract between married couples, as they’d separated and it was likely they intended to be bound by their agreement
5
Q
REVERSING
this applies…
A
- where a case goes on appeal and a higher court reverses the decision of a lower court
- can only be used by HoL and CoA
6
Q
REVERSING
for example
A
- CoA may disagree with the legal ruling of the HC and form a different view of the law
7
Q
REVERSING
sweet v parsley
A
- CoA decided the teacher didn’t need knowledge of drugs growing in her house and found her guilty
- HoL re erased the decision
8
Q
OVERRULING
a higher court…
A
- in a later case, states that the legal rule decided in an earlier case from a lower court is wrong
9
Q
OVERRULING
some courts…
A
- over rule their own decision
- eg. ECJ can over rule itself as it isn’t bound by its own previous decisions
10
Q
OVERRULING
the supreme court…
A
- can over rule itself using the PS 1966
11
Q
OVERRULING
the CoA can…
A
- over rule itself in the criminal division using R v Taylor
- civil division using the expectations from Young v Bristol Aeroplane
12
Q
PER INCURIAM
when a judge…
A
- in a previous case has overlooked an important point of law and the decision he made was therefore wrong
13
Q
PER INCURIAM
in this instance …
A
- decision can be over ruled
14
Q
PER INCURIAM
this is rare…
A
- as judges are often reluctant to say that the judge was wrong
Williams v Fawcett the judge refused to follow a previous decision as it was made in error
