Ratio Decidendi And Obiter Dictum Law

Constitutional Administrative Essay

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Introduction
Legal sys
2 most senior courts
Supreme Court used to be House of Lords
Appeals court
Judicial precedent

Hierarchy
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court was established in 2009 replacing the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords,
assuming its judicial functions and role as the most senior court, it is the final court of appeal for both
civil and criminal cases in England and Wales. The establishment of the Supreme Court separated the
United Kingdoms most senior judges and the upper house of parliament, increasing the transparency
between Parliament and the courts, as well as highlighting the independence of the Law Lords (The
Supreme Court, 2013?)
The Supreme Court has 12 judges known as Justices of the Supreme Court and is directed by a
president, deputy president. The court always sits in panels of an uneven number of Judges; cases are
heard by a minimum of three judges but are typically heard by five judges.
The main function of The Supreme Court is to hear appeals on questionable points of law of
importance to the general public from The Court of Appeal and in some cases the high court. The
Supreme Court will also hear both Civil and criminal cases of the greatest public and constitutional
importance.
The decision made by the Supreme Court, Specifically the ratio decidendi must be followed by all
inferior courts (stare decisis). The Supreme Court does however have the right to depart from its
previous decision when it appears right to do so.
The Supreme Court has the right to overrule or reverse any decision made in the English legal system.
Overruling would usually occur when the previous court applied the law incorrectly or because the later
court finds the rule of law used in the ratio decidendi no longer desirable.
Reversing would occur in the event of a higher court overturning on appeal of the decision made by a
lower court hearing the appeal. The court would then substitute its own decision.

The Court of Appeal

The court of appeal is the second most senior court in England; it is separated into a civil division and a

criminal division. It is the highest court of the senior courts, which includes the High Court and Crown
Court.
The Court of appeal hears appeals from the high court and the county courts. The appeal could be on
a question of law or a fact from a lower court and certain tribunals..
The Civil Division hears appeals form the High Court, County Courts across England and Wales and
certain Tribunals. The civil divisions president is known as Master of the Rolls.
The Criminal Division hears appeals from the Crown Court; the head of the criminal division is called
Lord Chief Justice. Both divisions are generally heard by three judges known as Lord Justices and
Lady Justices.
The Court of Appeal must follow the decisions of the Supreme Court even if it considers them to be
wrong, but can depart from previous decisions made by themselves or lower courts in the following
circumstances:
The Court of Appeal must choose which decision to follow or reject when its own previous decisions
conflict.
If the decision cannot stand with a decision of the Supreme Court, then the Court of Appeal must
refuse to follow its own previous decision.
The Court of Appeal does not need to follow a decision it has previously made if it was given by
carelessness or error.
The principle of stare decisis is not followed as firmly in criminal cases because someones liberty may
be at risk.

Judicial Precedent
Judicial precedent is the process whereby judges follow previously decided cases where the facts are
sufficiently similar. The doctrine of judicial precedent involves an application of the principle of stare
decisis (to standby the decided). In practice this means inferior courts are bound to apply the principles
set down by superior courts in earlier cases. This provides predictability and consistency in the law.

Ratio Decidendi and Obiter Dictum

The ratio decidendi is the binding part of a decision and is the principle of law on which the decision of
a case is based.
The obiter dictum speculates what the judge would of decided if the facts of the case had been
different, it may be of persuasive authority in later cases but it is not binding on future cases. Difficulty
can arise in the event of the judge not specifying what the ratio decidendi is; it would then be the later
judges responsibility to interpret what the ratio of the case is. It is also possible for more than one ratio
and can disagreement over what or which part is the ratio of the case.

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