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CONCEPT OF CASE LAW

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This article is written by Harleen Kaur of 7th Semester of BALLB of UILS, Panjab University, Chandigarh, an intern under Legal Vidhiya

Abstract

Case law is the law established by courts based on past judicial decisions. It serves as an important source of law which is why it becomes important to understand this concept. This article aims to delve into this concept to provide an understanding of the same. It brings a lot of certainty, precision, efficiency and clarity to any certain legal matter or issue. It lays down the principles to be followed in a case interpreting the law, which are then relied upon in identical cases. These are also known as precedents. Because these are more prevalent in a common law system, case laws are often also known as common laws.

The idea behind following case laws is to interpret legislations because it is not possible for the law makers to anticipate every single situation or problem that might be faced in the future. This is where it is seen that the judiciary very effectively performs its role as the interpreter of law.

This article will also provide an insight into the various sources to access different case laws as they form an integral part of legal research as well. These sources provide full-fledged case laws as well as summaries of such case laws for quick comprehension of the legal matter and to understand the gist of the same.

This is why it becomes very relevant for a legal professional, student or researcher to be well-acquainted with the concept of case law for better understanding.

KEYWORDS: precedent or case law, stare decisis, ratio decidendi, obiter dicta

INTRODUCTION

Legal profession is the field of vocation which aims at combining the principles or theoretical aspect of law with the practical application of the same. Law has always emphasized that society evolves and because law regulates the society, it should change too. Legislations, statutes and regulations laid down at a certain point in time cannot anticipate the changes or legal problems which might arise in the future, no matter how detailed the Legislation writes them down to be. Due to the process of evolution of ideologies, beliefs and mindset of the society, there is a need for laying down certain principles with respect to a certain problem which arises and cannot necessarily be solved only by applying the laws. That is where the work of judiciary comes in. In such situations, the judiciary performs its task of interpretation of law to lay down certain principles which become landmark decisions for the matter and guide similar matters in the future. Such decisions are known as case laws or precedents.

A case law is a judicial decision laid down by a court of law which becomes a precedent for matters with similar facts in the future. A matter goes to a court and the court hears both sides. After due consideration, the judgement is pronounced which includes the logical reasoning for the decision as well as the opinions of the judges which led to the decision.

Collins Law Dictionary defines case law as

“law that has been established by following decisions made by judges in earlier cases.”

Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides that a case law is

“law established by judicial decision in cases.”

RATIONALE FOR FOLLOWING A CASE LAW OR PRECEDENT

The rationale behind this concept is that courts interpret law. They work to analyse the constitutionality and applicability of a certain law. This puts a check on the legislature as well whilst providing consistency or uniformity to the cases similar in nature. Otherwise there would be a lot of mayhem in the system if every case, even with similar issues and circumstances, had completely different decisions. This would lead to a lot of confusion and might even defeat the objective for laying down a certain law due to such muddled interpretation.

Moreover, when a decision is pronounced by the court, it is a given that the subordinate courts/ tribunals are bound by the same.

Now, what is the doctrine and how is it pertinent to the topic?

PRINCIPLE OF STARE DECISIS—A CASE BECOMING A CASE LAW

The term stare decisis is a Latin term which means ‘to stand by things decided’. This is a well-established and followed legal principle which provides that all the courts/ tribunals are to adhere to the rules, principles or decisions of the prior similar matters or of a higher court/ tribunal (or a larger bench of the same court), when handling a case which similar facts and circumstances. This principle binds the courts to the past judgements. This doctrine has horizontal and vertical aspects.

A court applying the horizontal aspect would mean that court is bound by its own past decisions. Such as the Supreme Court of India is bound to follow its own similar past judgments unless there occur any exceptional situations which makes it difficult or unreasonable to apply the same. On the other hand, applying the vertical aspect would mean that the lower courts are bound by the decisions of the higher courts within the same jurisdiction. For example, the High Courts in various parts of India are bound by the decisions of the Supreme Court of India, which is the highest court of law in the country.

Thus, this doctrine is based upon the rule that:

  1. The lower courts are entirely bound by the decisions of the courts above it.
  2. The higher courts are bound be their own decisions in matters of general precedence.

In High Courts;

  1. The decisions of a high court are binding on all the subordinate courts within their jurisdiction.
  2. A larger bench has more authority.
  3. The decision of one high court is not binding on other high courts.

For Supreme Courts;

Supreme Court is the highest authority in India. Article 141 of the Indian Constitution lays down that the decisions given by the Supreme Court are binding on all the courts within the territory of India. However, the Court is not bound by its own decisions. This does not mean that it cannot deviate from its decisions but this happens in extremely exceptional circumstances e.g., where a principle laid down in the prior decisions is wring or outdated.

CASE LAW WITH REGARDS TO CIVIL LAW SYSTEM VS. COMMON LAW SYSTEM

Case law is often also known as common law. In a common law system (such as Britain, India, Canada, etc.), the judgements are meticulous. They contain ratio decidendi as well as obiter dicta.

In a civil law system (such as France, Germany, Greece, etc.), judgements are much shorter. They only provide the decision. The rationale in such a system is that looking at the matter vis-à-vis the decision, it would be possible to deduce the logic, the principle and the reasoning behind the same so there is no need to provide a detailed judgement.

As a result, the concept of case law is much more prevalent in a common law system. This is one of the more fundamental differences between these systems.

TYPES OF CASE LAWS (OR PRECEDENT)

  1. Declaratory precedent

Salmon explained that a declaratory precedent is the one where there is only the application of an existing principle or rule in law. Basically, it only declares that such legal rule has been put into practical application.

It is the case law where a new law is created and applied in the legal matter. It becomes a landmark in the matter. For instance, the Kesavananda Bharti case is the landmark case for laying down the doctrine of basic structure of constitution.

Such case laws are not a direct source of law. It is considered to be a historical source. These are to be taken into consideration but the judges are not bound to follow it.

It is compulsory to follow the decision of the precedent in a case law. It has to be followed, sometimes even if the decision in the case law does not seem to be as reasonable.

SIGNIFICANCE OF A CASE LAW

A case law is an integral part of legal practice. The major reasons for the same are as follows:

  1. Legal Certainty: When a case comes before the court similar to a precedent, it lays down a guide for the Court. It provides a foundational understanding of the same. The principle laid down in the prior decision is followed. It provides a certainty and uniformity in that particular matter. It makes sure that there is no confusion regarding a certain legal issue, concept or legislation. The interpretation of the law laid down by the court is followed in all similar matters in the future without fail until and unless it is an exceptional matter. This gives the legal practitioners as well as the layman a crystal-clear understanding of the same matter. For instance, the case of Kesavananda Bharti vs. Union of India[1] laid down the concept of basic structure doctrine clearly. Whenever such a matter comes before the courts which challenges the basic structure if our Constitution, it is clear that this landmark judgement would be relied upon.
  2. Flexibility: Laying down a principle does not mean it is set in stone. It does not mean that it would not change in any way ever. These case laws help identify distinctions in cases which prima facie may seem similar. This gives a new direction to the legal issue; possibly even laying down a new principle for that matter. It is very clear with the concept of case laws that there is a possibility of them being overruled because things might change with time and may bring to light a new aspect for the same matter which was not explored in the case law or precedent. But following the case laws gives an opportunity to the court to sit and analyse that decision again, to brainstorm that matter once again.
  3. Precision: Case laws provide precision to a certain matter. There are always different ways of looking at similar situations. Considering the prior decisions provides new perspective, new aspect to that legal issue every time it is considered. This prepares the legal system for numerous cases even with regard to a similar situation. This is helpful because, as mentioned earlier, no matter how detailed legislation is, it can never anticipate all the societal problems.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A CASE LAW

It is not possible to list each and every single type of case law documents. It is assumed that the model case law document is a judgement almost every legal system has a judgement. However, every legal system has a different name for the same. For instance, in Poland, a case law is known as ‘entry in the land register’. So, it can be said that a case law has a different name in different countries but if looked into closely, it contains a few similar elements such as:

  1. Date of judgement
  2. Date of court session
  3. Names of the parties
  4. Bench in the given case
  5. Case number to identify the case
  6. Findings of material facts also formulate an integral part of a case law. This helps in understanding the factual aspect of the case.
  7. Another part is the principles of law applicable to the legal issues of the case.
  8. Final decision: a decision will include two parts which are:

SOURCES OF CASE LAW—CASE LAW REPORTERS

In both common law and civil law systems, every case law is documented which is necessary for the record but not every case law is published. The ones which are published are compiled in a case law reporter. These reporters contain full-fledged decisions.

There are two main type of case law reports:

  1. General law reports: These contain decisions from a specific court, several courts within specific jurisdiction, from several courts within several jurisdiction.
  2. Specialized law reports: These reports contain specific subjects of law independent of court or jurisdiction.

Such publications are usually accompanied by some additional information created by legal editors (usually by lawyers or jurists). Most popular ones are in the form of headnotes or commentaries. These contain the summary of the case, the principles or law applied or introduced, decision given, etc.

One can also access the summaries of cases which are compiled in special publications called digests. These digests, at the end of the summary contain the citation of the case law for reading full judgements.

The sources of case laws in India:

  1. Supreme Court Reports (SCR): It is published under the Supreme Court (Council of Legal Reporting) Rules, 1964. It is supervised by the Supreme Court Council of Law Reporting which comprises of the Chief Justice of India, two Supreme Court Judges, Attorney General of India and one number nominated by Bar Council. It is published in various volumes and each volume has four parts with around 300 pages each. Such a case law is cited as

(year)Volume SCR Page no.

Example- Mohammad Abdul Kadir v. Directorate General of Police, Assam and Ors (2009) 9 SCR 611

AIR Year Court Page no.

Example- Balbir Kaur v. State of Punjab AIR 2009 SC 3036

Year (Volume)SCJ Page no.

Example- Yogendra v. Leelamma 2009 (7) SCJ 2

(Year) Volume SCC Page no.

Example- Maruti Suzuki Ltd. v. CCE (2009) 9 SCC 193

Online Case Law Database:

  1. SCC Online
  2. Manupatra: India’s Legal Law Database
  3. Supreme Court of India- Online database

SOME IMPORTANT CASE LAWS

There are numerous such case laws which have become landmark decisions for Indian legal system.  They have changed the trajectory of our system. These are landmark because they have been relied upon time and time again for comprehending a legal matter to decide a case identical to the case law or precedent.

Some of these landmark cases, just to mention a few, are as follows:

Kesavananda Bharti v. State of Kerela[2]: This case laid down the basic structure doctrine. This doctrine lays down that the fundamental elements of our Constitution form the foundation of our country and these elements are known as basic structure such as sovereignty, republic, integrity, equality, and fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression. Such elements cannot be amended. Even though Article 368 of the Constitution lays down the procedure to amend the Constitution, the basic structure shall not be amended.

ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla[3]: This is also known as the ‘habeas corpus case’. It resulted in the 44th constitutional amendment clarifying that the fundamental rights of Article 20 and 21 cannot be suspended even during the times of emergency. This laid down that the State cannot encroach upon an individual’s liberty.

State of Rajasthan v. Union of India[4]:  The issue raised in this case was that a presidential order cannot be reviewed. The Court held that there is no such rule barring judicial review over a presidential order in case such order was arbitrary or unreasonable.

Jagmohan Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh[5]: In this case, the validity of death penalty was challenged on the ground that it was violative of Article 14. However the Court relied upon the 35th Law Commission Report wherein it was provided that death penalty should be retained.

These are just a few examples of how important case laws are and how they contribute to the development of Indian legal system. There are a lot of such important and landmark decisions which are relied upon by the Courts to decide upon a certain legal issue.

RECENT DISCUSSIONS ON ISSUES WITH THE CONCEPT OF CASE LAWS

Case law, as already understood, is a source of law. It has been counted as one of the formal sources of law.

It has, however, been argued against giving such importance to the concept of case law. It is provided that there is lack of autonomy with respect to a case law as it is derived from a legislation. It cannot exist on its own. A case law cannot be solely relied upon. It has to be supplemented by a legislation or legal provisions, regulations, etc.

It is also argued that a case law is not a source of law because formal definition of source of law is considered to contain legal norms and such rules provide character or essence to law.

However, it is expressed that the main function of case law is to ensure a uniform application and interpretation of law and not to create any new laws. It is one of the leading sources of law and is in the strictest connection to statute law to provide interpretation of law.

So, such arguments are not really true as a case law does have a binding effect. It is evident that it lays down some rules, maybe not in the formal sense but still its importance cannot be dismissed.

As said by Hans Kelsen,

“Judicial decision- making is not in any case just usage of law. It is also a continuation of the process of the creation of the law. It is an act of individualization of the general legal norms.”

CONCLUSION

Case laws or judicial precedents are an important part of legal proceedings. Case laws are treated as a source of law. These are the past judicial decisions which are to be followed by the courts in identical cases in the future. This concept is based on the doctrine of stare decisis which provides that the decisions given by a court or tribunal are to be followed by the subordinate courts or tribunals within its jurisdiction. This concept is even inculcated in the Indian Constitution under Article 141 with regards to the authority of the judicial decisions of Supreme Court.

These play a very significant role in interpreting various legislations. This concept of following a case law provides a lot of precision, legal certainty and precision to the legal system.

Analysing a case law can provide a lot of clarity on a certain legal matter. It provides the practical application of a law or how it works when faced with the reality of the world and complexity of human nature. To access these case laws, there are numerous sources which are available such as SCR, SCJ, AIR, etc. With the advancement of technology, almost every legal system has an online database for making access to these case laws for facilitating research even easier. In India, Manupatra and SCC Online are examples of such databases.

However, one thing is to be very clearly understood that a case law does not mean the ultimate legal rule at all times. While it may define the trajectory of law for a certain time period, it is to be kept in mind that such case laws may be overruled by the appropriate courts if no longer in tandem with the societal and legal advancement.

REFERENCES

  1. INDIAN CONST. art.141
  2. INDIAN CONST. art. 368
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  14. Case Law Techniques, https://www.studocu.com/row/document/university-of-mauritius/finance-minor-law/ch5-caselaw-technique-precedence/12504148, (Last Visited on 2nd September, 2023)
  15. Judgements that Changed India, https://www.legalbites.in/book-review-landmark-judgement-that-changed-india/, (Last Visited on 1st September, 2023)
  16. Indian Law, https://unimelb.libguides.com/c.php?g=928009&p=6704295, (Last Visited on 2nd September, 2023)
  17. Case Law, https://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch27s02s01.php, (Last Visited on 1st September, 2023)
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  19. Case law and its Binding Effects in the System of Formal Sources of Law, https://www.gealfow.com/portfolio/case-law-source-of-law.pdf, (Last Visited on 2nd September, 2023)

[1] (1973) 4 SCC 225

[2] (1973) 4 SCC 225

[3]AIR 1950 SC 27

[4]AIR 1977 SC 1361

[5]AIR 1973 SC 947

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