Describe how the doctrine of precedent operates through a hierarchy or courts within the English legal system. Illustrate you description with cases.

In matters of law with a European element, the highest court is the European Court of Justice.  Its decisions are binding on all English courts including the House of Lords, the next highest court, whose decisions are binding on all lower courts and, up until 1966, was also bound by its own decisions.  It was in this year that the Lord Chancellor, Lord Gardiner issued a practise statement that the House of Lords could depart from their own previous decisions “when it appears right to do so.”  The first time the House of Lords exercised this power was in 1972 in the case of British Railways Board v Herrington when they overruled an earlier House of Lords decision in Addie v Dumbreck [1929].  It wasn’t until 1986 in R v Shivpuri that the House of Lords overruled itself in a criminal case, departing from the decision made in Anderton v Ryan [1985].

In the Court of Appeal there is a difference in law relating to civil and criminal divisions.  Its decisions are binding on all lower civil courts.  The Court of Appeal civil division, in turn, is bound by the European Court of Appeal, the House of Lords and its own earlier decisions except in the circumstances outlined by Lord Greene in Young v Bristol Aeroplane Company LTD [1944].  According to Lord Greene, an earlier Court of Appeal decision is not binding if and only if any of these three situations apply; there are two conflicting Court of Appeal decisions where the one not followed will be overruled. The Court of Appeal decisions contradicts a later House of Lords decision (where the binding court precedent would be followed anyway) or the earlier Court of Appeal decision was given per incuriam (through lack of care).