BUSINESS LAW

SEMESTER 1 ACADEMIC YEAR 2013

WORKSHEET IV

CASE LAW (COMMON LAW), THE DOCTRINE OF JUDICIAL

PRECEDENT AND THE COURT SYSTEM IN JAMAICA

Students must be able to:

o describe the system of courts in Jamaica
o explain the meaning of judicial/binding precedent
o explain the significance of the doctrine of binding precedent to the
operation of the common law

 THE DOCTRINE OF JUDICIAL OR BINDING PRECEDENT

Principles of law emanating from the common law are found in cases reported in law
reports (or in unreported judgments). The doctrine of judicial precedent is integral to
how these principles are applied by courts. The doctrine operates so that principles of
law previously determined on a particular legal issue in a case must normally be
applied by a lower court in a subsequent case dealing with the same issue. Legal
principles established by higher courts therefore are binding on lower courts.

Critical then to the operation of the doctrine of judicial precedent is the system of
courts.

 THE SYSTEM OF COURTS IN JAMAICA

The system is a hierarchical one with the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
being the highest in the system. It is the final appellate court for Jamaica and thus
hears appeals from the Court of Appeal. In Jamaica, the replacement of the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)
has been set back with the decision of the Privy Council in Independent Jamaica
Council for Human Rights et al v Hon Syringa Marshall-Burnett and AG (See
Worksheet II).

The following is a diagramatic representation (on the next page) of the structure of
the court system which is taken from the Ministry of Justice website. Consult this
website (http://www.moj.gov.jm/node/view/22) for a brief overview of the courts.
The Court of Appeal is established under section 103 of the Constitution which also
specifies how the court is to be made up. The Supreme Court is established by
section 97 of the Constitution which also specifies how this court is to be
comprised. Resident Magistrates Courts are established under the Judicature
(Resident Magistrates) Act.

1
 [Extracted from http://www.moj.gov.jm/node/view/22

Reading for this worksheet: R. Belle Antoine (2008) Commonwealth Caribbean

Law and Legal Systems, London/New York: Routledge-Cavendish Publishing pp. 117-
131.