Certainty in the law is achieved through the rules of statutory interpretation and through the operation of the doctrine of precedent. Discuss

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Certainty in the law is achieved through the rules of statutory interpretation and through the operation of the doctrine of precedent.” Discuss. In England and Wales, as well as in other common law countries, the judicial process of decision making relies heavily on the doctrine of precedence. ‘Judicial precedence’ has two distinct meanings, it may either refer to a leading decision which should be followed in the future, or it may be understood as a process of applying previously decided cases. (Terence Ingman , The English Legal Process, p. 297) Only the obiter dicta, that is the statement of relevant legal principles, has a binding force, additional comments, known as ratio decidendi, are merely persuasive. One of the reasons why precedent has been successfully relied on for so many centuries is the doctrine of stare decisis, the doctrine compels lower courts to abide by the decisions of higher courts whenever the facts of the cases are similar. However, it should also be stressed that every case is unique and although the doctrine of stare decisis may appear straightforward its application is known to have caused difficulty. Consequently, even though this paper will attempt to show that certainty can only be achieved through uniform application of legal principles it will also acknowledge the fact that excessive rigidity tends to produce unfair decisions. In 1898 Lord Halsbury confirmed existence of precedent and explained that, according to the doctrine, the House of Lords must adhere to its own decisions until the law is amended by statute. (London Street Tramways v London County Council [1898] AC 375) What this meant in practice is that the House of Lords did not have the power to overturn its own decisions and consequently judgments on the point of law could not be re-examined. The law was amended by the Practice Statement of 1966 which gave judges a greater degree of flexibility. Lord Gardiner said: "Their Lordships regard the use of precedent as an indispensable foundation upon which to decide what is the law and its application to individual cases. It provides at least some degree of certainty upon which individuals can rely in the conduct of their affairs, as well as the basis for orderly development of legal rules.” (Practice Statement (Judicial Precedent) [1966] 3 All ER 77, emphasis added ) Yet, Lord Gardiner did not omit to mention that indiscriminate application of precedent may result in injustice and hinder development of legal principles. Clearly, the Practice Statement allows the House of Lords to depart
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from its previous decisions but it is advisable that the Lords use their power sparingly. In the article Consequences of an overrule Francis Bennion examined the disadvantages of allowing the House of Lords to overrule its previous decisions. He identified a number of reasons due to which overrule may be an undesirable development; firstly, it encourages judicial activism and consequently allows the judiciary to usurp powers to which, constitutionally, they are not entitled. In other words, although overrule makes it possible for judges to correct their mistakes it also allows them to modify the law the way they consider appropriate. ...

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