UNSW Law Library - Teach Yourself Legal Research

Part 6 - Case Law

Time for another quick quiz. Are these statements true of false?

Are all cases published in the law reports?

Does the New South Wales Supreme Court have jurisdiction for the administration of justice in New South Wales?

Do courts use precedents to try to decide similar cases in the same way?

If you gave an incorrect answer, or do not understand a question, see below for more information.

Law reports
Case law is also known as common law or judge made law. A case is a legal matter decided by a court. The judgment is the statements of the judge or judges who decided the case. The judgment gives the reasons for the decision, examining all the legal issues raised in the case.

Some judgments are published in law report series. Only those cases which further develop the law or explain a legal issue with particular clarity will be included in the law reports. These cases come mainly from the High Court , the various state Supreme Courts, and some tribunals such as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. If a case is decided by a jury there can be no report; juries decide facts, not law, and do not give reasons.

Jurisdiction
"Jurisdiction is the power, or the extent of the power, of a court to hear cases." (Enright, Studying Law, 5th ed., p.37). Generally, jurisdiction may be limited in a number of ways, for example by:

the amount of money involved,
the seriousness of an offence,
geographic area (e.g. The New South Wales Supreme Court has jurisdiction for the administration of justice in New South Wales).

For a detailed discussion on jurisdiction in Australian courts, see Crawford, Australian Courts of Law, 3rd ed., Melbourne, OUP, 1993 (held at L/KL216/C1/3).

Stare Decisis and Precedent
In common law systems, legal principles or decisions, established in earlier cases are carried through in later cases by the doctrine of precedent.

The doctrine of stare decisis means to stand or abide by a precedent, that is, courts usually abide by their own earlier decisions. However, courts must follow decisions of higher courts in the same hierarchy, which may overturn a decision of the lower court. For example, the Supreme Court of New South Wales is bound by a decision of the High Court of Australia, but not by a decision of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

For a detailed discussion on precedent in the Australian legal system, see Cook, et al, Laying down the law, 5th ed, Sydney, Butterworths, 2001. Held at L/KL176/L1/5.

Continue to Part 6a - Finding a Known Case

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