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Doctrine of precedent: Difference between revisions
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====A golden thread running though the web of English law==== | ====A golden thread running though the web of English law==== | ||
By common myth, this is how the [[common law]] became the thing of many-faceted beauty we know today. No-one mentions the [[Elephants and turtles|elephant]] in the room, never mind the fact that there are ''four'' of them, and all perched atop of a [[stack of turtles]]. You see, there can’t ''always'' have been a developed body of [[case law]]: at some point in its life, every maxim; every [[golden thread|golden stream]] running through its [[sunlit uplands]]; every principle of common law was buried deep in a great marble block, and those qualified to opine on it could do no more than walk around it, with a chisel, scratching their chins. | By common myth, this is how the [[common law]] became the thing of many-faceted beauty we know today. No-one mentions the [[Elephants and turtles|elephant]] in the room, never mind the fact that there are ''four'' of them, and all perched atop of a [[stack of turtles]]. You see, there can’t ''always'' have been a developed body of [[case law]]: at some point in its life, every maxim; every [[golden thread|golden stream]] running through its [[sunlit uplands]]; every famously articulated principle of [[common law]] — the whole edifice was buried deep in a great marble block, and those qualified to opine on it could do no more than walk around it, with a chisel, scratching their chins. | ||
''For what precedent did the judiciary cite as authority for the very first case?<ref>THEY MADE IT UP.</ref> (“You're very clever, young man, very clever,” said the old lady, “but it’s precedent all the way down.”'' | |||
Outside the great curial chambers of the [[Chancery Division]], the greatest exponent of the [[doctrine of precedent]] is | Outside the great curial chambers of the [[Chancery Division]], the greatest exponent of the [[doctrine of precedent]] is the [[general counsel]]. | ||
When brought a novel conundrum the GC will immediately ask, “what have we done before?” If comes the answer, “we’ve never had this problem before, boss”, expect quick diffusion of responsibility through the [[circle of escalation]]. If you're talking to the [[GC]] already, chanced are the wheel has already half-way turned. Watch out for when it smacks you on the backside. | |||
====On whether there is anything new under the sun==== | ====On whether there is anything new under the sun==== | ||