ENGLISH LAW

Role of Judicial Precedent and Statutory Interpretation in English Law

Role of Judicial Precedent and Statutory Interpretation in English Law

Introduction

English law is the law or the legal system that prevails in England and Wales. The English law or English legal system is proud of the consistency that exists in it which forms the basis of a fair justice system. Two key aspects in the English legal system are Judiciary precedent and statutory interpretation with regards to their contribution in shaping the English law.

Judicial precedent refers to the case or a decision that has been previously made by the court and that is used to make a decision or give a judgment regarding a similar case having common facts or elements (Kalis, n.d., pp.01). It is one of the major sources of formulation of English law. Statutory interpretation refers to elucidating and the interpreting the laws and statutes already put forth by the parliament or the legal system. This includes various approaches that the judges use to interpret the laws or the cases in order to make a decision taking into account judicial precedent (Corbin, 2007, pp.01-03). Statutory interpretation plays a key role in that it leads the way the law enacted by the parliament in point of fact operates. This essay aims to critically discuss the extent to which the judiciary precedent plays a role in shaping the English law as well as the manner in which Statutory interpretation contributes to this process.

Discussion

Judicial precedent is a way of giving fair, just and consistent verdict in the English legal system. It plays a significant and decisive role in making judgments about the cases that are similar in various aspects with the previously judged cases. It is one of the basic sources of English law. The basis of judicial precedent is the verdicts made by the judges whether for the first time or repeatedly (Kalis, n.d., pp.01).

In the English legal system, the judges are required to establish all the facts and aspects related to the case to be judged, provide the laws that are related and pertinent to the case at hand, study the precedent related cases and then make a final judgment. Judicial precedent speaks for the firmness of the English legal system in following and abiding what has been established previously or what has been put forth by the courts on the higher hierarchical level (Fon & Parisi, 2006, pp. 519-535). A judicial precedent plays a key role in shaping English law; however, these roles differ according to the types of precedent being used.

There are three types of judicial precedent that are used by judges to make a judgment in the English legal system. These are original, binding and persuasive judicial precedent. Original precedent plays a fundamental role in shaping the English law when the case at hand does not holds similar inference from any previous cases or decisions (Rosen, n.d., pp.131-136). In such cases, the judge can use reasoning by analogy to identify the legal principles that are ...