Developement in Doctrine of Stare Decisis
INTRODUCTION:
Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedent established by prior decisions. The words originate from the phrasing of the principle in the Latin maxim Stare decisis et non quieta movere: "whatever has been decided must stand". In a legal context, it means that courts should generally abide by precedent and not disturb settled matters. However, this doctrine has been overruled by courts in some cases. International trade laws have not always followed prevous decisions and thus might produce inconsistent decisions. Basically this legal principle states that once a law has been determined by the appellate court to be relevant to the facts of the case, future cases will follow the same principle of law if they involve considerably identical facts.
The principle of stare decisis was not always applied with uniform strictness. In medieval England, common-law courts looked at earlier cases for guidance, but they could reject those they considered bad law. Courts also relied less on previous decisions because there was a lack of reliable written reports of cases. Official reports of cases heard in various courts began to appear in the United States in the early 1800s, but semi-official reports were not produced in England until 1865. When published reports became available, lawyers and judges finally had direct access to cases and could more accurately interpret prior decisions.
American law operates under the doctrine of stare decisis,which means that prior decisions should be maintained -- even if the current court would otherwise rule differently -- and that lower courts must abide by the prior decisions of higher courts. The idea is based on a belief that government needs to be relatively stable and predictable.
This means that overturning a Supreme Court decision is very difficult. There are two ways it can happen: * States can amend the Constitution itself. This requires approval by three-quarters of
Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedent established by prior decisions. The words originate from the phrasing of the principle in the Latin maxim Stare decisis et non quieta movere: "whatever has been decided must stand". In a legal context, it means that courts should generally abide by precedent and not disturb settled matters. However, this doctrine has been overruled by courts in some cases. International trade laws have not always followed prevous decisions and thus might produce inconsistent decisions. Basically this legal principle states that once a law has been determined by the appellate court to be relevant to the facts of the case, future cases will follow the same principle of law if they involve considerably identical facts.
The principle of stare decisis was not always applied with uniform strictness. In medieval England, common-law courts looked at earlier cases for guidance, but they could reject those they considered bad law. Courts also relied less on previous decisions because there was a lack of reliable written reports of cases. Official reports of cases heard in various courts began to appear in the United States in the early 1800s, but semi-official reports were not produced in England until 1865. When published reports became available, lawyers and judges finally had direct access to cases and could more accurately interpret prior decisions.
American law operates under the doctrine of stare decisis,which means that prior decisions should be maintained -- even if the current court would otherwise rule differently -- and that lower courts must abide by the prior decisions of higher courts. The idea is based on a belief that government needs to be relatively stable and predictable.
This means that overturning a Supreme Court decision is very difficult. There are two ways it can happen: * States can amend the Constitution itself. This requires approval by three-quarters of