Judicial precedent (2)

Question 1

what is precedent

Answer 1

a legal principle that has been decided in a case and it should be followed in all future cases

Question 2

the system of precedent means that…

Answer 2

a judge must follow the previous decisions that have been set by higher courts in cases of simular facts

Question 3

where do laws come from

Answer 3

parliment and judges

Question 4

what does stare decisis mean

Answer 4

stand by the decision

once a case has been decided and a legal principle has been set out then this applys in all future cases.

Question 5

what are the 3 key elements for judicial precedents to work

Answer 5

• system of law reporting
• a court hierarchy- must follow everyone above you
• a method of working out the decided legal principle so that law can be applied effectively ( ratio decidendi )

Question 6

what is the court hierarchy in the ELS

Answer 6

1- supreme court
2- court of appeal (criminal and civil divison)
3- high court (chancery, family, kings bench divisions)
4- crown court (criminal) and county court (civil)
5- magistrates

Question 7

what does ratio decendi mean

Answer 7

the reason for the decision

it is the legal principle that judges base their decisions on and is binding on all lower courts

the binding element, applies in all future cases of similar facts

some cases have more than one ratio decendi

Question 8

if ratio decidendi is set by a lower court then…

Answer 8

it is not binding on any higher courts but acts as a persuasive precedent

Question 9

if ratio decidendi is set by a higher court then…

Answer 9

it is binding on all lower courts who must follow it in similar cases.

Question 10

what are the 2 case examples for ratio decendi

Answer 10

R v Howe
R v Brown

Question 11

what does obiter dicta mean

Answer 11

• the other things said in the judgement
• it is not binding
• it can be used as a persuasive precedent in future cases
• if an obiter dicta is used in another case, this then can create the ratio decidendi in the new case

Question 12

what are the 2 case examples for obiter dicta

Answer 12

R v Gotts (R v Howe) followed the obiter dicta of howe
R v Wilson (R v Brown) followed the obiter dicta of brown

Question 13

what are the 3 types of precedents BOP

Answer 13

Binding
Original
Persuasive

Question 14

what is a binding precedent