CO SCI 136 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Legal Positivism, Mischief Rule, Lex Specialis
Document Summary
Chapter 2 legal reasoning: different functions of sources of law: Indicate the various shapes law can take. 1* premise: formulation of a legal rule in the format |if condition then legal consequence| 2* premise: description of the facts of a case that satisfy the conditions of the rule. Identified by looking at different legal systems at different times (before. 1066 case law wasn"t an official source of english law while now it is) Only official legal sources can be used as reasons why a particular rule is a valid legal rule here and now: in the common law tradition: Judges aren"t bound by every element of an earlier court decision but only by its ratio decidendi decisive grounds that led the court take the decision. Obiter dicta: other relevant reasons mentioned by the court that didn"t determine its decision. Ratio decidendi + outcome of the case=conditions and conclusion of a rule.
