The Importance Of Judicial Precedent

There are multiple sources of law in the UK. Such as creating sources which refer to Parliamentarians and Judges. Material Sources, for example, Westlaw; Lexis; Law reports and lastly authoritative sources which include Statutes; Judicial precedent/cases. This essay will focus on Judicial Precedent and its importance by discussing firstly, what it consists of, the advantages and disadvantages and finally whether it is the most important source of law.

Judicial Precedent is a source of law, in which the court follows a decision that has already been made in a similar case. Precedent is made whenever a new issue arises in law, the final decision becomes the rule to follow in any similar cases that come after. It is believed that like cases

The most important source of law is Statutory law. “Statutory Law is the term used to define written laws, usually enacted by a legislative body. Statutory laws vary from regulatory or administrative laws that are passed by executive agencies.” Precedent is procedural law, and Statutory law is Substantive law. Let’s use an example to understand and differentiate between substantive and procedural law. If a person is accused and undergoing a trial, substantive law prescribes the punishment that the under-trial will face if convicted. Substantive law also defines the types of crimes and the severity depending upon factors such as whether the person is a repeat offender, whether it is a hate crime, whether it was self-defence etc. It also defines the responsibilities and rights of the accused. To add more context, substantive law explains the rights and duties of the people, but procedural law provides the rules with the help of which they are enforced. Like mentioned statutory law is made by members of parliament, which means elected officials are making laws on behalf of the citizens that elected them in are more likely than judges to know what laws the public wants and needs. Furthermore, judicial precedent or common law is amended by statutory law. Thus, some argue, statutory law is more powerful than judicial precedent, as the former can take precedence or amend the latter. Therefore, statutory law will prevail if there was a contradiction between the two. Additionally, some may argue that a disadvantage of statutory law is that statutes are not made by judges who know the law best, however, it is relevant to note that statutory law goes through a long scrutiny process and most times the acts of parliament that are passed will not be in disservice to the citizens.

Perhaps the most