judicial precedent disadvantages

Question 1

makes law rigid.

Answer 1

Jones v SOSS, HOL refused to over rule even though decision was 4/7 and the precedent was clearly wrong.

Question 2

makes law uncertain

Answer 2

Hard to tell when a court will follow precedent as there are lots of ways to avoid it. Merritt v Merritt and Balfour v Balfour, makes it hard for public to keep up.

Question 3

precedent is complex

Answer 3

1/2 mill precedents, hard to know what the ratio is. ReJ, the judge couldn’t find the ratio, so didn’t know what decision he had to make.

Question 4

goes against separation of powers

Answer 4

allows judges to make and change laws without consulting parliament. Donoghue v Stevenson, created a whole new area of law.