What is the doctrine of precedent, where similar cases are decided in a similar way?

• A. Stare Decisis
• B. Jurisprudence
• C. Ratio decidendi
• D. Obiter dicta

Answer: (A)

Stare decisis, the doctrine of precedent, means courts should stand by the rules established in earlier cases when the facts are similar. This creates consistency and predictability, because lawyers and judges can rely on prior rulings to guide outcomes in later disputes. Generally, decisions from higher courts bind lower courts in the same jurisdiction, shaping how the law develops over time through a chain of binding authority. The part of a decision that actually decides the outcome is the ratio decidendi, which forms the binding rule for future cases; obiter dicta are incidental remarks that are not binding. Jurisprudence is the broader study or philosophy of law, not the mechanism by which past decisions constrain future ones.