precedent
Sign in to saveAlso known as precedential, legal precedent
Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of stare decisis ("to stand by things decided"), where past judicial decisions serve as case law to guide future rulings, thus promoting consistency and predictability.
~41 min read
Article
35 sectionsContents
- Principles
- ''Stare decisis''
- ''Ratio decidendi'' and ''obiter dicta''
- Hierarchy of courts
- Federalism and parallel state and federal courts
- Types of precedent
- Binding precedent
- Persuasive precedent
- Nonprecedential decisions
- Precedent in civil law and mixed systems {{Anchor|Precedent_in_civil_law}}
- Civil law systems
- Mixed or bijuridical systems
- Role of academics in civil law jurisdictions
- Critical analysis
- Court formulations
- Academic study
- Application
- Development
- United States legal system
- English legal system
- The Supreme Court's ability to override its own precedent
- Distinguishing precedent on legal (rather than fact) grounds
- Binding obiter dicta
- Rules of statutory interpretation
- Statutory interpretation in the UK
- Statutory interpretation in the United States
- Practical application
- Judicial resistance
- Structural considerations
- Originalism
- Criticism of precedent
- Agreement with precedent
- See also<!-- New links in alphabetical order please -->
- Notes
- External links
Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of stare decisis ("to stand by things decided"), where past judicial decisions serve as case law to guide future rulings, thus promoting consistency and predictability.
Precedent is a defining feature that sets common law systems apart from civil law systems. In common law, precedent can either be something courts must follow (binding) or something they can consider but do not have to follow (persuasive). Civil law systems, in contrast, are characterized by comprehensive codes and detailed statutes, with little emphasis on precedent (see jurisprudence constante), and where judges primarily focus on fact-finding and applying the codified law.