CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENGLISH COURT SYSTEM THAT COMES FROM ITS FOUNDATION AS A COMMON LAW COUNTRY.
English law maybe defined as a body of rules, created by the state binding within its jurisdiction and enforced with the authority of the state through the use of sanctions parliament, it is responsible for creating most of the law applicable in the u.k,such law is contained in acts of parliament or statutes,increasinly the content of much of this law is determined by the European union, and in this respect parliament does not have complete independence,since the human act rights act 1998,the e.u convention on human rights is directly enforceable in the English court.
In very simple terms the doctrine means that a judge who is hearing a particular type of case does not have to make a decision using simply his or her own knowledge of the relevant legal rules, but that similar previous decisions can be consulted to guide and justify the conclusion reached in the instant case. Whereby a judge in a lower court is aware of a decision of a higher court which sets precedent in an analogous case, then this previous decision must be followed, and it is this element of binding precedent which is distinctive within the English system. for example if a new statute has been created by parliament, which regulates the activities of estate agents and a dispute arises concerning the interpretation of one of the sections of the act, and a court case ensues. The case reaches the court of appeal, which makes a decision about the definition of an estate agent. In all future cases in which the definition of an estate agent is in issue, lower courts must observe this binding precedent, and apply the decision from the previous case in these situations. Clearly if this system is to operate effectively, then it is essential that there is an efficient and reliable system of reporting court cases. Which is achieved through the work of the