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a) Describe how the doctrine of precedent operates through a hierarchy or courts within the English legal system. Illustrate you description with cases. (15) The doctrine of binding precedent states that a judge us bound by the law contained in earlier decisions. This system is based on stare decisis; that which is decided is to stand. The operation of judicial precedence depends on the hierarchy of the courts. This is because before a judge is bound by a precedent, three conditions have to be satisfied, one of which being that the precedent must have been decided by a binding court. In matters of law with a European element, the highest court is the European Court of Justice. Its decisions are binding on all English courts including the House of Lords, the next highest court, whose decisions are binding on all lower courts and, up until 1966, was also bound by its own...

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