Chapter 2 Sources of law

1. Case law

Case law(判例法) means legal rules established by judges(法官) (i.e. judge-made law) in their judicial decisions based on the underlying principle of consistency.

Consistency:A court’s decision is expected to be consistent with previous decision(与之前的判决结果前后一致)

l Case law:docrtine of judicial precedent(遵循先例原则)

1.1 什么是先例？

1.2 先例怎么产生的？由等级地位高的法院创建

1.3 先例会失效吗？ Yes, 3种情况下会失效

1.1  什么是先例？

Precedent:A previous court decision which another court is bound to follow by deciding a

subsequent case in the same way.

Doctrine

lThe doctrine is also frequently referred to as the“doctrine of consistency”or “stare decisis”

该原则又通常称为“前后一致”或“遵循先例”原则，均要求法官必须尊重先前判决所确定的司法先例（Stare decisis 的字面意思为“坚持先前的决定，不改变已被确定的先例”）。

1.2 先例怎么产生的？由等级地位高的法院创建

Precedent

When a legal rule is established by an appropriate court(higher court) in a judgment

Types of precedents:

Binding precedents: they must be followed by a judge.

有约束力的司法先例：法官必须遵循该先例。

Persuasive precedents: they may be followed by a judge.

有说服力的司法先例：法官可以选择遵循该先例。

1.3 先例会失效吗？ Yes, 5种情况下会失效