Law – 1 English legal system | e-Consult

The doctrine of precedent ensures consistency, predictability, and fairness by obliging courts to follow earlier decisions.

Hierarchy of courts (simplified):

1. Supreme Court (formerly the House of Lords) – highest appellate court; its decisions are binding on all lower courts.
2. Court of Appeal – divided into Civil and Criminal Divisions; its judgments bind the High Court and lower courts.
3. High Court – consists of the Queen’s Bench, Chancery, and Family Divisions; bound by Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
4. County Courts and Magistrates’ Courts – must follow decisions of higher courts.

Binding authority: Decisions of a higher court in the same jurisdiction are obligatory for lower courts. For example, a County Court must follow a High Court ruling on a point of law.

Persuasive authority: Includes decisions from courts of equal or lower rank, decisions from other jurisdictions (e.g., Scottish courts), academic writings, and obiter dicta. While not obligatory, such authorities may influence a judge’s reasoning.

In practice, the doctrine promotes legal certainty, but the courts retain limited flexibility. The Supreme Court may depart from its own previous decisions when it is “necessary in the interests of justice” (as per R v. R (1991)), and the Court of Appeal can distinguish earlier cases on factual differences.

Overall, stare decisis balances the need for stability with the capacity for the law to evolve in response to new social and legal challenges.