Law reports As A Source of Law in the UK

The development and application of the common law system pivots upon(=is based on) the existence of a comprehensive(=clear) system of reporting cases. The Law Reports, published annually by the Council of Law Reporting, are perhaps the most authoritative and frequently cited set of reports, differing from other series of law reports, such as Butterworth's All England Law Reports [All ER] or specialist reports like Lloyds Law Reports, in that they contain summaries of counsel's arguments and are revised by the judge sitting in each respective case before publication. Cases aren't always reported in the year that they are decided so a case citation will refer to the volume and year in which the case was published, for example Meah v Roberts, [1978] 1 All ER 97. (https://lawreportsbuyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ALL-ENGLAND-LAW-REPORTS.jpg) Developments in electronic databases have increased public access to recent cases.

Latin terms used for the legal principles outlined in the above texts are:

1️⃣ stare decisis = principles of binding precedent(=a previous court decision which another court is bound to follow, by deciding a subsequent case in the same way)

2️⃣ ratio decidendi = the rule at law reasoned(= set of procedures or guidelines that individuals follow to make rational judgments and decisions based on cognitive and social constraints)

3️⃣ obiter dictum = persuasive authority(= decision by a court of the same rank)