JSB171 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Comity, De Facto, Precedent
Document Summary
A court will be bound by a decision of a superior court in the same hierarchy. A court is bound to follow the ratio decidendi of an earlier decision, but will not be bound to follow the obiter dictum of the earlier decision. Some courts are not part of the appellate structure. Certain courts are at the common apex" of different hierarchies. Express or implied overruling of previous cases. The short answer is no the only exception being the civil division of the english court of appeal. However, even though courts are not technically bound to do so, it is very rare for a court to depart from its previous decisions. The highest court in the english court hierarchy, replacing the house of lords as the highest court on. It is highly unlikely that the supreme court of the united kingdom will be bound by its own previous decisions.
