Applied

applied meaning

A precedent is established when a senior court, makes a ruling on a contested issue of law. This ruling has the potential to amend or clarify the law and establishes a standard that other courts are required to follow or apply in subsequent instances. The rationale behind a decision, also known as the judgment's underlying legal justification, is referred to as the "ratio decidendi." It is made up of the statement of law that is applied to the facts of the case that are deemed to be relevant (that is to say, those facts that are seen as important in the eyes of the law). Applied indicates that a court has regarded itself bound by an earlier case, and has therefore employed the same reasoning in the case.

Case APPLIED

When a case is applied by a UK court, it means that the court is using the legal principles and decisions made in that particular case to reach their own decision in a similar case. This is known as the doctrine of binding precedent, where lower courts are bound by the decisions made by higher courts. For example, if the UK Supreme Court issued a decision on a property dispute, a lower court faced with a similar dispute would be obligated to apply that decision in their own ruling. This ensures consistency and predictability in the legal system, as decisions build upon one another and create a body of law known as common law.

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