What does Judicial Precedent actually mean?
In Common Law (case law made by judges where there is no Statute), judges do not just decide what they like in every case. The law has to be stable and certain. If a case comes before a court on a materially similar set of facts to something which has come before them previously, they must reach the same decision. The court is bound in future by its own decisions, and by the decisions of the courts above it in the hierarchy of courts. A judge may not always follow a precedent. This can happen where: The case is a test case, a legal first with no precedent. No previous case matches the facts of the new one exactly, and the judge must distinguish between them. The advantage of judicial precedent is that claimants, defendants and their lawyers can reliably predict the outcome of a case beforehand, and thus be able to settle out of court, saving the court time, and saving themselves money. On the downside, the law can become inflexible and entrenched and take a long time to respond to the
