precedents

. In a sense, all law is ‘judge-made’ law. This is because laws ultimately mean what judges say they mean. But some laws are more ‘judge-made’ than others. Whereas judges can only interpret Acts of Parliament, they effectively determine the nature of common law. Common law, which is particularly important in the English legal tradition, is built up on the basis of judicial precedent. This happens as judges in one case accept judgements in earlier similar cases as binding, through what is known as ‘case law’. Such law is therefore, in effect, made up of a collection of decisions made by judges. The principle of stare decisis 'let the decision stand' means that future cases will be guided by past decisions.