... decidendi statement. It is a statement of law raised by the facts found upon which a judicial decision is based. This is in contrast to other statements of legal principle put forward in a judgment which are not directly relevant to the matters in issue. Such statements are called obiter dicta. Secondly, the court must have a superior or if not, an equal status to the court considering the statement at a later date. There are also two reasons as to why decisions of the court are treated with respect and regarded as precedents where they are called upon to determine cases of a similar kind. The psychological reason is the justification of one's decision to a dispute by reference rather than to take responsibility of the decision. The practical reason is the desirablitlity of uniformity in the rulings. The present form of the doctrine of binding precedent is due to ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now