Judicial Precedent
Judicial Precedent by Anthony Harte Judicial precedent often referred to as case law, is one of the main sources of English law. Its roots go back to the early common laws of the country. It is based on the Latin maxim Stare decisis et non quieta morvere, which loosely translated means, stand by what has been decided and do not unsettle the established. In order for the judicial precedent system to work, an accurate detailed method of reporting cases is of great importance. After each case, a judge will give a speech, which contains two parts. The most important part is the section that contains details of the principle of law that has been used to base his decision on. This is called the ratio decidendi and means reason for deciding this is the part that creates binding precedent. The rest of the speech is called the obiter dicta, which means other things said. Although this part does not create binding law it may be persuasive, other judges may refer to it and speculate as to what the decision would have been if the facts of the case had been different. This all seems very simple, but in fact, it can be very difficult to find the all important ratio decidendi in the speech. The speech is not given in two parts, the ratio decidendi and obiter dicta are given in a continuous form, not headed up specifying the two separate areas. As a result, it is often difficult for
Judicial precedent
Assignment 2.2 A.) Judicial precedent comes from decisions made by judges which create laws for later judges to follow. Depending in which court a judge is operating in, they can be bound by that decision and must follow it, this is also known as case law. Precedent means once a decision has been made in one case on point of law, that decision must be kept in future cases. Although precedent has been around for hundreds of years it was only established in the late nineteenth century. Baron Parke an important judge of his era, said precedents must be regarded in subsequent cases and it was not open to the courts: "To reject them and abandon all analogy to them" (Mirehouse v Renell) Precedent is created by the judgments on past cases. The judgment is the speech made by the judge who has made the decision on the case, and it is split into two parts. It should be noted that there is often more than one judge hearing a case, and so there may be many judgments on one case. The first part is the "ratio decidendi" ("reason for deciding"). This is the most important part as it gives the judge's decision. He will give a summary of the facts of the case, review the arguments put by both sides, and explain the parts of the law (and any previous cases) he has used to make his decision. This is the part of the speech which creates the precedent. The other part of the judgment is called
Judicial Precedent
Judicial Precedent Where the facts of a case are similar to a one which has already been decided, the judge must follow that previous decision, especially if the decision was reached by a higher court in the hierarchy. This is the basis of judicial precedent and is called stare decisis-'let the decision stand.' After hearing a case, a judge presents his written judgement (case law) which sets out the facts of the case and legal principles used. The legal principles are set out in the ratio decendi-'reasons for deciding.' The ratio decendi also forms the basis of binding precedent. Obiter dicta is another part of the judgment and means 'things said by the way.' This forms the basis of persuasive precedent. For the system of precedent to work there must be strict rules for a judge to follow. There is a system of hierarchy where higher courts bind lower courts. The European Court of Justice binds all UK courts. The House of Lords is the highest appeal court in UK. Binds all lower courts and itself unless the decision was 'per incuriam' (in error) or it uses the Practise Statement 1966, which is used very sparingly and only when it would be just or right to depart from an earlier decision. The Court of Appeal binds all lower courts and itself unless under Young v Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd where the decision was per incuriam or where two Court of Appeal decisions conflict or
Judicial review.
Elizabeth Mount Public Law B JUDICIAL REVIEW The [fictional] Inner City Regeneration Act provides for the establishment of the Inner City Regeneration Fund, to be administered by a new body called the Authority for the Regeneration of Inner Cities [ARIC]. Section 1 of the Act provides that in considering applications for grants ARIC should seek "to promote initiatives designed to address problems presented to inner cities by homeless persons". ARIC refused an application for a grant made by Rummidge Society for the Homeless [RSFH] to replace the heating system in their shelter for homeless persons, located just off Old Street in Rummidge Inner City. In their application the Society had indicated that without this financial assistance the shelter would probably have to close. This would mean that there would be no overnight accommodation for homeless persons in the Inner City, which would cause problems for the police and others. Explaining its decision to refuse grant support, ARIC stated that it was not its policy to support initiatives designed to cater for the needs or well being of homeless persons. Its primary purposes, it said, are to dissuade such persons from establishing themselves in inner city areas and to minimise their impact on the enjoyment of inner cities by others. The Chief Executive of ARIC is a School Governor of an Independent School located next
Legal Personality
Course W100: eTMA 3: Evaluate the importance of the concept of legal personality in English law, drawing on examples from your study of W100 so far. The concept of legal personality is 'a fundamental question in law ...' answering ' ... to whom does the law apply? Who can sue and ... who can be sued[b1]?' Since the introduction to Block 2 of W100 so unequivocally aligns the student to the notion that legal personality is indeed an important part of the foundations of the law, it would be brave to seek to argue against the inference of the question[b2]. Mercifully, since considerations of legal personality directly interfere with the most basic issues of human existence - as will be seen literally life and death issues on occasion - such a contradiction is unnecessary. Further, since it is readily demonstrable that the various 'statuses' afforded by legal personality effect (affect) pretty much all aspects of our rights and responsibilities, the task becomes a recital of the considerable weight of material which supports the question's assertion rather than a polemic[b3]. To make your introduction more effective, remember that it needs to do the following: to explain to the reader how you interpret the question (I think that you did this, although I would query some of that interpretation), identify some of the major issues/debates, explain how your essay is going to
Land Law
The Law of Real Property 'The aims of any system of registered title should be certainty, simplicity and the ability to be economic' In the light of this statement, critically consider the structure and major provisions of the Land Registration Act 2002 How far and by what means does the new legislation seek to achieve the aims stated above? This essay will discuss the major provisions of the Land Registration Act 2002 and its economic affects. This essay will also look at the history of registration in order to demonstrate its relevance. The concept of registration of property is not something that has come about in recent years; the idea began at the time of William the Conqueror in 10661. Once in England, William declared all land to be his and this view has remained ever since, who ever rules the country owns the land. The law was used as currency, in the way that is was given to a chosen few, for example, the Church and Lords in return for prayers and knights respectively, but ultimately it belongs to the Crown. The development of land law from this point relates to the doctrine of tenures and a 'slice of time'2 in the land. It was therefore of benefit to know who was living on the land so that a form of rent could be collected from them. Registration aided this. The system of tenure is no longer in use but concept of a 'slice of time' from the Sovereign still
Land Law
Unit: Land Law 3. Portsea Football Club is the owner of a city centre football stadium. Whilst it is difficult to put a value on the stadium as such, the land on which the stadium is built has provisionally been valued for redevelopment purposes at some £5,000,000. Three years ago the football club took out a loan with the Portsea and District Bank for the sum of £2,000,000, repayable (with interest) by equal monthly instalments over the period of ten years in order to finance improvements to the stadium and the loan is secured by a legal mortgage on the land. The football club is now in serious financial difficulties however, and has failed to pay the last two instalments when they fell due. Advise the Bank. The classic definition of a mortgage was provided by Lindley, cited in Chapelle (2007 p336) as "a transaction under which land or chattels are given as security for the payment of a debt or the discharge of some other obligation." It is fair to say that the relationship between Portsea Football Club and the Portsea and District Bank is directly related to the definition provided by Lindley. The security provided by the football club is the land belonging to the club on which the stadium is built. Portsea Football Club has borrowed two million pounds from the Bank, using the value of its land to secure the loan and it has a legal obligation to repay this mortgage
Law and Morality
Law and Morality Rules exist in many contexts, not just in the case of legal rules or even moral rules. The term rule has been defined by Twining and Miers as 'a general norm mandating or guiding conduct'. In other words, a rule is something that determines the way in which we behave, whether because we submit ourselves to it voluntarily, as would be the case with moral rules, or because it is enforceable in some general way, as would be the case with laws. Rules either develop through time, reflecting current ideology or through custom or practice, and would thereby involve the disapproval of the community if broken. Rules are generally obeyed because: * They carry with them a sense of moral obligation. The very nature of the word Tort (meaning wrong) indicates that there is a good deal of morality attached to it, and that people should be free from invasion with their personal life or property. * It is reasonable and relevant, and this clearly didn't apply to the Poll Tax of the 1980's which was thereby duly repealed * Penalty may be imposed if the rule is broken, despite personal disagreement; compulsory seat belts still had to be obeyed. So it is possible to describe law as the body of official rules and regulations, governing found in constitutions legislation, judicial opinions and the like, that is used to govern a society and to control the behaviours of its
Law and Morals
Law & Morals Law and morals have a strong relationship. Some argue that our law is built on moral positions; some argue that many morals are now built on law. There is some truth to both views. It might be said that in more primitive society's morals and law are more closely bound together. As societies become more diverse, a rift opens up between the two in many areas different individuals and groups hold different views on what is and what is not morally right. Law are rules and standards of behaviour which are prescribed by authorities who enforce them with various sanctions. If a law is to be successful, it must be backed by a reasonable section of the community or it falls into disrepute and becomes meaningless. Law is about the control and directing of human social conduct and behaviour. In our system we have a number of areas of law dealing with different issues. Some laws deal with anti-social behaviour known as criminal, some deal with disputes between individuals and businesses known as civil, some deal with commercial transactions which is contract and some deal with tort, which includes issues of negligence and nuisance. Law represents codes of social conduct, which society has decided should be compulsory. This might be described as the only common 'moral framework' there is. The law is a way of formally stating behaviour that is to be regarded as acceptable
Law of Evidence
Law of Evidence (Law 249) Assessed Coursework (Q1) Naveed Ahmed "It seems that memories are short. Despite its manifest failings, there is now a certain nostalgia for s.2 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976 whilst vitriol is reserved for ss.41-43 of the Youth and Criminal Evidence Act 1999." 1 The question of whether there should be some, and if so what restriction on the scope of the cross-examination regarding sexual behaviour on the part of the complainant in trials involving allegations of a sexual offence has occasioned great difficulty for the law of evidence.2 Precipitated by the need to strike a balance between the interests of the accused to adduce relevant evidence which legitimately supports the defence on the facts and evidence which can only be regarded as an attempt to discredit the complainant the development of the law has been both complex and controversial.3 At common law, the complainant in a rape offence could be cross-examined about her sexual history if the questions were directly relevant to a fact in issue such as consent or the identity of the perpetrator.4 In contrast to this evidence relating to the complainant's sexual history on other occasions or with persons other than the accused was considered as a collateral issue which was relevant to the complainant's credibility as a witness the corollary of which was that it was subject to the
