Consistency
Bring consistency to the English legal system
Case with similar facts will be treated in the same manner
Prevents judges making random decisions
Promotes justice and equal treatment
Law remains the same, which helps people plan their affairs
Predictability

Lawyers are able to advise their clients with some degree of certainty
Predictability is important in determining who should qualify for Government help in funding their legal action
The Government does not fund cases which have little chance of success as this would be a waste of taxpayers’ money
Flexibility

Judges can develop the law – e.g. overruling an out-dated precedent
House of Lords can use the Practice Statement – meaning the law can be developed in areas not considered important by Parliament
Modernising decisions may prompt Parliament to review legislation and bring I in line with precedent – R v R (1991) – Parliament amended the Sexual Offences Act 1956 – stating that marital rape is a crime

original precedents#

The doctrine allows for new or ‘original’ precedents to be created
An original precedent makes legal provision on a matter for which there was previously no law
Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority (1985) – Supreme Court deciding on whether girls under 16 could be prescribed contraceptives without parental consent. This issue had never arisen before

Complexity

Judgements can be complex and it can be hard to decide the ratio decidendi of a case
In CoA and Supreme Court there is more than one judgment to consider and a common ratio decidendi has to be considered by judges in future cases
A judge can give more than one ratio – Rickards v Lothian (1913) – water flooding

Volume
It is difficult to research the law
Hundreds of judgements are made every year
This means someone may have to sift through many volumes of law