Week 4: Lec 2 (Case Law) Flashcards
Will the court always say clearly what the ratio of the case it is deciding is?
No,
Sometimes the courts may be clear, i.e. “The law is xxx” or “The principle is clear that xxx”, but usually the courts do no say anything like that.
Who works out what the ratio of a case is?
Later courts, lawyers and other people, but the later courts’ opinions are the most important
Are there disagreements about what the ratio is?
Yes,
Often lawyers disagree as to what the ratio is and judges when deciding cases can disagree as well.
Do the (material) facts of the actual case always appear in the ratio?
Not always - depends on the case - for example in Rylands v Fletcher there was nothing about water flooding a mine in the ratio
What is the difference between a wide and a narrow ratio?
A wide ratio can be general and therefore applied to a range of cases. Whereas a narrow ratio is more case specific. For example Rylands v Fletcher has a wide ratio
Once a case has been decided a certain way by the courts does this mean that the law can never be changed, for example, say the law is that people cannot sue for careless work done by builders, does that mean that builders can never be sued for careless work?
No, for 2 reasons
A Higher court could change the law (Or if highest court, more judges could be brought in)
Parliament could always change the law by creating or amending a law
Does a court always give one judgement in a case?
Depends what court you are meaning.
District/high court = 1 judge
But CA and SC have at least 3 judges, and each judge could write their own decision
If you want to sure someone for breach of contract for $400,000 which court do you start in?
High Court, district court only hears cases for under $200,000
