Stare decisis CASES

In English law, stare decisis is the doctrine of precedent: courts follow earlier judicial decisions when the same legal issue arises. It is a latin phrase which translates as “to stand by things decided”. It is sometimes loosely expressed as “let the decision stand”. The principle promotes certainty, consistency, and equality before the law by ensuring that like cases are decided alike.

Legal status and scope

Stare decisis operates through the hierarchy of the courts. Lower courts are bound by decisions of higher courts on points of law, and appellate courts generally follow their own prior decisions subject to recognised exceptions. The doctrine applies to the legal reasoning that is necessary to the decision, rather than to every observation made by a judge.

Ratio decidendi and obiter dicta

The binding part of a judgment is its ratio decidendi, meaning the legal principle or rule that was necessary for the outcome. Statements that are not essential to the decision are obiter dicta. Obiter remarks may be persuasive, especially when made by senior appellate courts, but they are not binding precedent.

Binding and persuasive precedent

A precedent is binding where a court must follow it. A precedent is persuasive where it may influence the court but does not have to be followed. Persuasive authorities can include decisions of courts at the same level, lower courts, courts in other jurisdictions, and obiter dicta.

The House of Lords and Tramways v London County Council

Historically, the House of Lords treated itself as strictly bound by its own previous decisions. In London Street Tramways Co Ltd v London County Council (1898), the House of Lords confirmed that it would follow its earlier decisions in the interests of certainty, even if it considered a prior decision to be wrong.

That strict approach was later relaxed. The House of Lords (and now the Supreme Court) retains the ability to depart from its own earlier decisions in limited circumstances where it appears right to do so, balancing legal certainty against the need to avoid perpetuating error.

Limits and exceptions

Whether a court is bound depends on the court hierarchy and whether the earlier decision truly decided the same legal point. Courts may distinguish a precedent where the material facts differ, or where the earlier statement relied upon was obiter rather than ratio.

There are also recognised situations in which an appellate court may decline to follow its own earlier decisions, but such departures are treated as exceptional and are justified by reference to the proper development of the law.

Practical importance

Stare decisis is central to English legal reasoning. It shapes legal advice, litigation strategy, and judicial decision-making by allowing outcomes to be predicted from existing authority, while still permitting careful development of the law through distinguishing cases and, in rare instances, departing from earlier decisions.