Exploring Case Law and Precedent in the Legal System at UWA

This presentation provides an introduction to case law and the doctrine of precedent, explaining the principle of stare decisis and its advantages and disadvantages. It defines key terms such as 'binding' and 'persuasive' precedents, and outlines when a precedent is binding, emphasizing the importance of the court hierarchy and the 'ratio decidendi' of a case. The presentation also covers how to read a case, including understanding citations, case details, summaries, and judgments, and it highlights the significance of identifying the 'ratio decidendi' and distinguishing it from 'obiter dicta'. The presentation concludes by summarizing the need to follow binding precedents, considering the court hierarchy, 'ratio decidendi', and facts of the case, and stressing the importance of practicing case reading skills. Desklib offers more resources including past papers and solved assignments for students.

Case Law and
Precedent
FACULTY OF LAW

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: Introduction
 The doctrine of precedent
 Australian court hierarchy
 Parts of a case / judgment

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: Precedent
Precedent = Stare decisis
=
Following the decision of a higher court, or a previous
court, in a case where similar law applies, and /or which
has similar facts
“The doctrine is that whenever you are faced with a
decision, you always follow what the last person who was
faced with the same decision did. It is a doctrine eminently
suitable for a nation overwhelmingly populated by sheep”
- Justice Lionel Murphy (1979)

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: Precedent
Advantages:
 Legal development
 Not arbitrary
 Fairness
 Flexibility
 Certainty
 Efficiency
Disadvantages:
 Injustice
 Manipulation
 Uncertainty
 Multiple judgments

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: Key Terms
Binding = a precedent which MUST be followed
Persuasive = a precedent which is relevant but which is not binding
Highly Persuasive = a precedent which is highly relevant and applicable but not
technically binding
Largely Irrelevant = a precedent which is not relevant to your case

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: When is a Precedent Binding?
 From a Court which is higher in the court hierarchy
 Has similar facts or is on a similar area of law
 Is the Ratio Decidendi from the case

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: The Court Hierarchy
High Court
Court of
Appeal
Supreme
Court
District
Court
Magistrate /
Local Court
Full Federal
Court
Federal
Court
Federal
Circuit
Court
State and
Territory
Federal

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: Key terms
 Ratio Decidendi = the key point of the case, the answer to the key issue in a
case, the part of the judgment that is used as a precedent in later cases
 Obiter dicta = comments made by judges in a judgment which are not
essential to the particular case but which are useful to explain the court’s
reasoning

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: Finding the Ratio

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: Finding the Ratio

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: Reading a Case
case name
citation
Page
number
parties Party role
Medium neutral citation

The University of Western Australia
Case Law: Reading a Case
Key words
Case
details
judges
Summary
of the case
- This is
NOT the
judgment