Theme: iWiki Log in Register

Diff: Case Law

Comparing revision #2 (2026-06-22 08:39:22) with revision #3 (2026-06-22 17:21:21).

Old	New
'''Case law''' is law developed through court decisions. In common law systems such as England and Wales, judgments do more than decide the dispute between the parties. Some decisions also state legal principles that later courts must follow or may find persuasive.

Case law is also called judicial precedent. It works alongside Acts of Parliament, statutory instruments, common law principles, and constitutional practice.

== Role in the UK Legal System ==
The United Kingdom has more than one legal system. England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland each have their own courts and legal traditions. Case law matters in all of them, but the hierarchy of courts and the effect of a decision can differ by jurisdiction.
	'''Case law''' is law developed through decisions made by courts and tribunals. It is also called '''judicial precedent'''. In common law systems, earlier decisions can guide or bind later courts when similar legal issues arise.

In England and Wales, binding precedent is central to the common law. A court normally follows decisions of higher courts where the legal point and material facts are sufficiently similar. Decisions from lower courts, foreign courts, academic writing, and courts in other UK jurisdictions may be persuasive but are not automatically binding.
	Case law is especially important in the legal systems of England and Wales, Northern Ireland and many other common law jurisdictions. It works alongside legislation, not instead of it.

== Ratio and Obiter ==
The binding part of a case is the '''ratio decidendi''', meaning the legal reason necessary for the decision. Other comments in a judgment are called '''obiter dicta'''. Obiter comments can be influential, especially when made by senior judges, but they are not binding in the same way as the ratio.
	== Meaning ==
	A judgment may decide the outcome of one dispute, but it can also state a legal rule or principle for later cases. The part of a judgment that forms the legal reason for the decision is often called the '''ratio decidendi'''.

Finding the ratio can be difficult. A case may have several judgments, different reasoning, narrow facts, or later decisions that reinterpret it. Lawyers often argue about what a case truly decided.
	Other observations in a judgment may be persuasive but not binding. These are often called '''obiter dicta'''.

== Binding Precedent ==	== Binding Precedent ==
Binding precedent depends on hierarchy. A lower court must usually follow a relevant decision of a higher court. The UK Supreme Court sits at the top of the UK court structure for most civil and criminal appeal matters, although Scottish criminal appeals do not go to the UK Supreme Court.
	Binding precedent means that a lower court must follow a relevant decision of a higher court in the same legal system. This gives the law consistency and helps people predict how courts are likely to decide similar issues.

The Court of Appeal is normally bound by its own earlier decisions, subject to recognised exceptions. The High Court can create persuasive authority and, in some areas, decisions that lower courts are expected to follow.
	In England and Wales, decisions of the Supreme Court bind lower courts. Decisions of the Court of Appeal bind most lower courts. High Court decisions can bind lower courts in some contexts and may be persuasive in others.

== Persuasive Authority ==	== Persuasive Authority ==
Persuasive authority may include:

* Decisions from courts at the same level.
* Decisions from courts in Scotland, Northern Ireland, or other common law jurisdictions.
* Decisions from lower courts.
* Dissenting judgments.
* Academic commentary.
* Older authorities that have not been directly overruled but may need caution.
	Persuasive authority may influence a court without binding it. Examples can include decisions from courts at the same level, lower courts, other UK jurisdictions, Commonwealth courts, the European Court of Human Rights, academic commentary or older authorities.

Persuasive authority is useful when there is no binding case on the point or when a court is deciding how a principle should develop.
	The strength of persuasive authority depends on the court, subject matter, reasoning and how closely the facts match.

== Overruling, Reversing, and Distinguishing ==
'''Overruling''' happens when a higher court decides that an earlier legal rule should no longer be followed.
	== Distinguishing, Overruling and Reversing ==
	Courts do not apply precedent mechanically. A court may distinguish a case where the facts or legal issue are materially different.

'''Reversing''' happens when an appeal court changes the result in the same case.
	Overruling occurs when a higher court decides that an earlier legal rule should no longer be followed. Reversing occurs when a higher court changes the result of the same case on appeal.

'''Distinguishing''' happens when a court accepts that an earlier case is good law but decides it does not control the present case because the facts or legal issue are materially different.
	The House of Lords Practice Statement 1966 recognised that precedent is important for certainty but that too rigid an approach can cause injustice or restrict the proper development of the law. The UK Supreme Court inherited the power to depart from its own previous case law in appropriate cases.

== Law Reports and Citations ==
Case law is usually found through law reports, official court websites, legal databases, and neutral citations. A neutral citation identifies the court and year, such as [2019] UKSC 41 for a UK Supreme Court case. Older cases may be cited by law report series instead.
	== Law Reports and Neutral Citations ==
	Case law depends on published judgments and reliable law reports. Modern UK judgments often use neutral citations, such as UKSC, EWCA Civ or EWHC references, which identify the court and year independently of a commercial report series.

Not every judgment has the same value. A reported appellate judgment on a legal point is usually more important than an unreported first-instance decision on specific facts.
	The National Archives Find Case Law service provides free access to many judgments from England and Wales and UK-wide cases from the Supreme Court and Privy Council. BAILII also provides free access to a large collection of British, Irish and related legal materials.

== Examples ==	== Examples ==
=== Donoghue v Stevenson ===
''Donoghue v Stevenson'' [1932] AC 562 is a leading negligence case. It is known for the neighbour principle and for shaping the modern duty of care in common law negligence.
	Important cases in UK legal history include:

=== R v R ===
''R v R'' [1991] UKHL 12 confirmed that a husband could be guilty of raping his wife. It is a major example of common law development rejecting an older marital immunity.
	* '''Donoghue v Stevenson''' (1932), associated with the modern law of negligence and duty of care.
	* '''Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company''' (1893), a contract law case about unilateral offers.
	* '''R v R''' (1991), which removed the marital rape exemption in English criminal law.
	* '''Airedale NHS Trust v Bland''' (1993), concerning withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.
	* '''R (Miller) v The Prime Minister''' (2019), concerning prorogation of Parliament.

=== Pepper v Hart ===
''Pepper v Hart'' [1993] AC 593 allowed courts, in limited circumstances, to refer to Parliamentary material when interpreting legislation.
	Examples should be read in their legal context. A famous case can be limited, developed or affected by later legislation or later judgments.

=== Miller and Cherry ===
''R (Miller) v The Prime Minister; Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland'' [2019] UKSC 41 held that the advice to prorogue Parliament in 2019 was unlawful. The UK Supreme Court treated the prorogation as having no legal effect.
	== Relationship with Legislation ==
	Legislation is made by Parliament or other law-making bodies. Case law interprets legislation, applies it to facts and develops common law principles where legislation does not cover the whole field.

== Limits ==
Case law is not a free-standing power for judges to rewrite any rule they dislike. Courts work within the facts of cases, the hierarchy of courts, statutory wording, constitutional limits, and earlier authority. Parliament can also change the law by statute.
	Where legislation clearly changes the law, courts must apply it. Where wording is uncertain, case law may explain how the statute should be understood.

== See Also ==	== See Also ==
* [[Common_Law]]	* [[Common_Law]]
* [[Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom]]
* [[House_of_Commons]]
* [[Constitutional_monarchy]]
	* [[Judicial_Precedent]]
	* [[Legal_System_of_the_United_Kingdom]]
	* [[Freedom_of_Speech]]

== References ==	== References ==
* [https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/legal-research-and-mooting-skills-programme/law-reports University of Oxford Faculty of Law: law reports and the doctrine of precedent]
* [https://supremecourt.uk/about-the-court UK Supreme Court: the Court and Legal System]
* [https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2019-0192 UK Supreme Court: Miller v The Prime Minister and Cherry]
* [https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1991/12.html BAILII: R v R [1991] UKHL 12]
* [https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1992/3.html BAILII: Pepper v Hart [1993] AC 593]
	* [https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about-this-service The National Archives: Find Case Law, about this service]
	* [https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/history-of-the-judiciary-in-england-and-wales/history-of-the-judiciary/ Courts and Tribunals Judiciary: overview of the judiciary]
	* [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199697/ldinfo/ld08judg/redbook/redbk45.htm House of Lords: Practice Statement on judicial precedent]
	* [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/court-judgments-made-accessible-to-all-at-the-national-archives GOV.UK: court judgments made accessible at The National Archives]
	* [https://ials.sas.ac.uk/digital-publications/bailii Institute of Advanced Legal Studies: BAILII]

[[Category:Law]]	[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:UK law]]
[[Category:Courts]]
	[[Category:United Kingdom]]