Doctrine of the precedent papers
English law is based on statute but its origins and its continuing evolvement rely heavily on the doctrine of binding precedent, in order to deal with matters not covered by statute and to enable progressive development of the law. Precedent is a very important source of English law and its binding nature while not preventing development of the law, is important in providing certainty in the law.
Judicial precedent also known as judicial decision which means law made by judges when a judge makes law, the case is known as precedent. The essence of the doctrine of binding precedent is that the decisions of courts higher up the hierarchy of courts are binding upon courts lower down in the hierarchy. Future judges must stand by the decision, which is known Stare Decisis. If cases decisions are recorded and judges in later cases follow these decisions a code of conduct can be built up.
Ratio decidendi, in literally means the reasons for the particular decisions, is the statement of law on which the judge based his decision. It is part of the judgement which is capable of forming a binding precedent which means they must followed in later cases. It is important to realize that the ratio decidendi has nothing to do with the facts of the case; it is a statement of law which is carried down to later decisions. In the case of Saloman v Saloman & Co Ltd (1897), the ratio decidendi provides that where a person or persons carry on business through a company, the debts of the business are debts of the company and not of those persons. Read more…