Chapter 2 Sources of law

1. Case law

Case law(判例法) means legal rules established by judges(法官) (i.e. judge-made law) in their judicial decisions based on the underlying principle of consistency.

Consistency:A court’s decision is expected to be consistent with previous decision(與之前的判決結果前后一致)

l Case law:docrtine of judicial precedent(遵循先例原則)

1.1 什么是先例？

1.2 先例怎么產(chǎn)生的？由等級地位高的法院創(chuàng)建

1.3 先例會失效嗎？ Yes, 3種情況下會失效

1.1  什么是先例？

Precedent:A previous court decision which another court is bound to follow by deciding a

subsequent case in the same way.

Doctrine

lThe doctrine is also frequently referred to as the“doctrine of consistency”or “stare decisis”

該原則又通常稱為“前后一致”或“遵循先例”原則，均要求法官必須尊重先前判決所確定的司法先例（Stare decisis 的字面意思為“堅持先前的決定，不改變已被確定的先例”）。

1.2 先例怎么產(chǎn)生的？由等級地位高的法院創(chuàng)建

Precedent

When a legal rule is established by an appropriate court(higher court) in a judgment

Types of precedents:

Binding precedents: they must be followed by a judge.

有約束力的司法先例：法官必須遵循該先例。

Persuasive precedents: they may be followed by a judge.

有說服力的司法先例：法官可以選擇遵循該先例。

1.3 先例會失效嗎？ Yes, 5種情況下會失效