Active learning ideas
Judicial precedent, or stare decisis, is the principle that judges should follow the decisions made in previous, similar cases. This topic explores the hierarchy of the courts and how it dictates which decisions are binding. Students learn to distinguish between the ratio decidendi (the legal reason for the decision) and obiter dicta (other things said 'by the way'), which are only persuasive.
Activity 01
Provide students with a simplified version of a famous judgment (e.g., Donoghue v Stevenson). Groups must highlight the binding ratio in one color and the persuasive obiter in another, justifying their choices to the class.
What is the difference between ratio decidendi and obiter dicta?
Activity 02
Set up a Supreme Court panel. Students are presented with a clear but outdated precedent (e.g., on marital rape or child trespassers). They must argue whether to follow the precedent for the sake of certainty or use the 1966 Practice Statement to change the law.
How does the Practice Statement 1966 operate?
Activity 03
Give students two very similar cases (e.g., Merritt v Merritt and Balfour v Balfour). In pairs, they must find the 'material difference' in the facts that allowed the judge in the second case to avoid following the first.
In what circumstances can the Court of Appeal depart from its own decisions?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Every part of a judge's written decision is binding law.
Only the ratio decidendi is binding. Using a 'sifting' activity where students separate the facts, the law, and the 'by the way' comments helps them identify the actual precedent.
The Court of Appeal can always ignore its own past decisions.
The Court of Appeal is generally bound by its own decisions, with very limited exceptions set out in Young v Bristol Aeroplane. A flow-chart exercise helps students memorize these specific exceptions.
Methods used in this brief
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