Judicial Precedent in the English Legal System
The doctrine of judicial precedent is based on the principle of stare decisis which means ‘to stand by what has been decided’. It is a common law principle whereby judges are bound to follow previous decisions in cases where the material facts are sufficiently similar and the earlier decision was made in a court above the current one in the court hierarchy. This doctrine of precedent is extremely strong in English law as it ensures fairness and consistency and it highlights the importance of case law in our legal system. Black's Law Dictionary defines "precedent" as a "rule of law established for the first time by a court for a particular type of case and thereafter referred to in deciding similar cases."
For this system to operate successfully, in both criminal and civil courts, three things are required – a settled court structure, a ratio decidendi and accurate records of the decisions made by superior courts.
A settled court structure is required as judges need to know which decisions they are bound to follow. The English Court hierarchy was largely established by the Judicature Acts 1873-75. The House of Lords was made the final appeal court in 1876 under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, in 2009 the Supreme Court became the final appeal court.
There are two court systems, criminal and civil, and they both contain various appeal routes in a vertical court structure. As the UK is a member of the EU, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights bind all English Courts in respect to matters within their jurisdiction.
For criminal cases the Supreme Court, formally the House of Lords, is the most superior court in the hierarchy. It binds all courts lower than itself and generally follows its own past decisions.
The next court below in the hierarchy is the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), they are bound by the past decisions of the Supreme Court/House of Lords and its own past decisions. Both Supreme Court and Court of
For this system to operate successfully, in both criminal and civil courts, three things are required – a settled court structure, a ratio decidendi and accurate records of the decisions made by superior courts.
A settled court structure is required as judges need to know which decisions they are bound to follow. The English Court hierarchy was largely established by the Judicature Acts 1873-75. The House of Lords was made the final appeal court in 1876 under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, in 2009 the Supreme Court became the final appeal court.
There are two court systems, criminal and civil, and they both contain various appeal routes in a vertical court structure. As the UK is a member of the EU, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights bind all English Courts in respect to matters within their jurisdiction.
For criminal cases the Supreme Court, formally the House of Lords, is the most superior court in the hierarchy. It binds all courts lower than itself and generally follows its own past decisions.
The next court below in the hierarchy is the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), they are bound by the past decisions of the Supreme Court/House of Lords and its own past decisions. Both Supreme Court and Court of