Running head: Law1902 assignment 2 1
Law1902 assignment 2 8
LAW1902-Introduction to Legal Research and Writing Assignment 2
Marlon David Vasquez
University of the West Indies (Open Campus)
Author Note
The work being submitted is my own work, and I understand what constitutes plagiarism and that I have not plagiarized.
(1) Using case law briefly explain the following terms:
(a) Ratio decidendi;
In Donoghue V Stevenson, Donoghue was invited by a friend to a café. A drink of ginger beer was bought by Donoghue’s friend for her to enjoy, where after drinking most of the ginger beer, a decomposed snail was noticed inside the drink by Mrs. Donoghue while she drank. This experience made Mrs. Donoghue ill in which she decided to sue the manufacturer of the ginger beer.
This case had reached the House of Lords whom which pointed out that the manufacturer of the ginger beer, had failed to provide the adequate attention to his duty as to assure that bottles were cleaned and safe for consumption by his consumers. In other words, the manufacturer owed a duty of care to her in which was said to have been breached.
The ratio decidendi pointed out in this case is that the manufacturer owed a duty of care to the end consumer who intends to use their product, therefore the manufacturer owed a duty of care to Mrs. Donoghue which he had breached by not ensuring that the bottles of ginger beer were properly cleaned before reused for safe consumption by consumers.
(b) Obiter dicta;
The obiter dicta is the statement said in the passing of the rule by the judge for the case of Donoghue V Stevenson - is the neighbor principle by Lord Atkin whom mentions, “You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbor. Who, then, in law, is my neighbor? The answer seems to be persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought to have them in mind when I am considering these acts or omissions.” Therefore, the rule that one must love his/her neighbor is part of the law, and one must take reasonable care to avoid acts of negligence in order to avoid harm to others.
(2) Name and explain two ways in which a court can avoid precedent, or in other words, avoid following a previously decided case.
Overruling decisions:
In certain strict circumstances, the higher courts have the authority to overrule precedent made by lower courts or by themselves due to judicial precedent thought to be inappropriate.
Distinguishing Precedent:
Since no two cases are the same, judges can regard the judgments as different and overrule them. Therefore, they are not bound by the judgment of previous cases but in fact, create new binding precedent.
(3) Briefly discuss and explain two of the three primary rules of statutory interpretation. Use case law in support of your response.
Literal Rule:
Literal rule is the method to strictly interpret a statute according to the meaning of the written words used as established by parliament.
For example, Baptiste V Alleyne, where a person who was resident of a house was being strangled by the accused whom was standing outside of the house by stretching his hands through a window to do the act. He was charged for such offense that he was inside the building; however, the case was appealed and was said that him being inside the building was inaccurate and such ruling cannot be passed on to his case because of the way it was written. Therefore, this conviction was revoked by the court.
Golden Rule:
In Davis V R, it was passed that the meaning of the written accusation was absurd. The appellant was convicted by a magistrate for the offense that, ‘parking a vehicle elsewhere than in the place provided for that purpose and in the manner required by an authorized officer,’ was prohibited.
The golden rule also called the common-sense rule is put to effect if the literal meaning of the words written is absurd whereby the court may substitute a reasonable meaning to the ruling or reject it in a whole.
References
Antoine. R. B. (2008). Concepts important to the Doctrine of Precedent. Commonwealth
Caribbean Law and legal systems (2nd ed.). Page 122-124. London
Teacher, Law. (November 2013). Previous decisions made by judges in similar cases. Retrieved
from https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/judicial-law/previous-decisions-made-
by-judges-in-similar-cases-judicial-law-essay.php?vref=1
Teacher, Law. (November 2013). Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] Doctrine of negligence.
Retrieved from https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/donoghue-v-stevenson.php?vref=1
Case study: Donoghue v. Stevenson (1932). (2018, June 21). Retrieved from
http://lawgovpol.com/case-study-donoghue-v-stevenson-1932/
Negligence - Duty of Care. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://quizlet.com/8722785/negligence-duty-
of-care-flash-cards/
Bryan. C. (2019). Case Law Techniques. Law course (Law 1902) PowerPoint Presentation.
Bryan. C. (2019). Statutory Interpretation. Law course (Law 1902) PowerPoint Presentation.
