... well: "Our common law system consists, in the applying of new combinations of circumstances, of those rules of law which we derive from legal principles and judicial precedents...we are not at liberty to reject them, and to abandon all analogy to them." However, judicial decisions do not all become binding, details of a case must fit certain criteria to become binding precedent. Within each judgement several statements will be made, however all these statements do not hold the same status. For a judge's statement to become binding on future cases, it must be considered part of the 'ratio decidendi' of the case: "The ratio decidendi of a case is any rule of law expressly or impliedly treated by the judge as a necessary step in reaching his conclusion, having regard to the line of reasoning adopted by him." 3 Therefore, the ratio decidendi includes all the statements and facts that are considered essential ...

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