Doctrine of precedent

• Stare decisis – ‘let what has been decided stand’

  Where the point of law in the present case and a previous case are the same, the court must follow the decision of the previous case.
• Ratio decidendi – ‘the reason for deciding’

  This is the legal decision of the case – binding precedent 
• Obiter Dicta – ‘other things said’

  Hypothetical situations considered by a judge that are not part of the decision – can be considered persuasive precedent.
• Original precedent – if a point of law has never been decided, whatever the judge decides will form new precedent (Donoghue v Stevenson)
• Binding precedent – what must be followed by all courts of the same level or below.

  Persuasive precedent – what may be followed
• Persuasive precedent 

  o   Obiter dicta

  o   Decisions in courts of other countries

  o   Decisions of the Privy Council

  o   Dissenting judgements 
• Decisions in courts of other countries 

  R v R – based a decision off of a similar case in Scotland 
• Decisions of the Privy Council

  Rare but highly persuasive – final appeal court for some commonwealth countries.
• Dissenting judgements 

  Where a decision was reached by judge majority, the reasons of the judges in the minority are called dissenting judgements.

  o   Crane Christmas followed dissenting judgements in Hedley Byrne v Heller