judicial process - judicial precedent

Question 1

what is judicial precedent

Answer 1

law made by judges in the court

Question 2

explain ratio decidendi

Answer 2

when a case appears before the judges they must make a judgement and this forms the law

Question 3

how did Donoghue v Stevenson influence future cases

Answer 3

a duty of care from manufacturers to consumers was created known as the neighbourhood principle - the decision in Daniel v white with similar facts to d v s used the ratio in Donoghue to allow the claimant to sue

Question 4

what’s the difference between overruling and distinguishing in judicial precedent

Answer 4

senior courts can overrule a previous decision to update the law. distinguishing is when the courts decide that the facts of the case are different to a new one therefore creating a new ratio

Question 5

what’s an example of a previous precedent being overruled

Answer 5

in BRB v Herrington the supreme court overruled the decision in Addie v Dunbreck stating the occupiers owe a duty of care to trespassing children

Question 6

what was the key difference in facts between Merritt v Merritt and Belfour v Belfour

Answer 6

in m v m the facts were sufficiently different to an earlier case of b v b that a new ratio was created