Stare decisis and ratio decidendi
The doctrine of stare decisis or the rule of judicial precedent dictates that it is necessary for each lower tier to accept loyally the decision of the higher tiers. Thus, a court other than the highest court is obliged generally to follow the decision ofthe court at a higher or the same level...
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| Format: | Book Chapter |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Malaysian Current Law Journal Sdn Bhd
2014
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/40389/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/40389/1/40389.pdf |
| Summary: | The doctrine of stare decisis or the rule of judicial precedent dictates that it is necessary for each
lower tier to accept loyally the decision of the
higher tiers. Thus, a court other than the highest
court is obliged generally to follow the decision ofthe court at a higher or the same level in the court
structure subject to certain exceptions. The
application of the doctrine from a higher court to
a lower court is called the vertical stare decisis.
Whereas, the notion that a judge is bound to follow
or respect the decision of an earlier judge of similar
or coordinate jurisdiction is called horizontal stare
decisis. Further, the rule of judicial precedent shall
apply whenever the relevant facts of an earlier
case is similar to the facts of a subsequent case,
ie., the relevant facts of the two cases are similar.
However, if the facts are not similar then the earlier
decision would be distinguished and as such would
not be binding on the subsequent case. In light of
the above, this chapter discusses the merits and
demerits of this doctrine, the working of this
doctrine with reference to its application in
England and Malaysia, the powers of the Federal
Court to review its own earlier decision, the
definition of ratio decidendi and obiter dicta and
its application. |
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