Per incuriam
Encyclopedia
Literally translated as "through lack of care", per incuriam refers to a judgment of a court
which has been decided without reference to a statutory provision or earlier judgment which would have been relevant. The significance of a judgment having been decided per incuriam is that it does not then have to be followed as precedent
by a lower court. Ordinarily, in the common law
, the rationes
of a judgment must be followed thereafter by lower courts hearing similar cases. A lower court is free, however, to depart from an earlier judgment of a superior court where that earlier judgment was decided per incuriam.
The Court of Appeal in Morelle Ltd v. Wakeling [1955] 1 All ER 708, [1955] 2 QB 379 stated that as a general rule the only cases in which decisions should be held to have been given per incuriam are those of decisions given in ignorance or forgetfulness of some inconsistent statutory provision or of some authority binding on the court concerned: so that in such cases some part of the decision or some step in the reasoning on which it is based is found, on that account, to be demonstrably wrong.
In R v. Northumberland Compensation Appeal Tribunal, ex parte Shaw [1951], 1 All ER 268, a divisional court of the King's Bench Division declined to follow a Court of Appeal decision on the ground that the decision had been reached per incuriam as a relevant House of Lords decision had not been cited to the Court of Appeal.
Some academic critics have suggested that Polemis [1921] 3 KB 560 was decided per incuriam as it did not rely upon the earlier decision in Hadley v. Baxendale.
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
which has been decided without reference to a statutory provision or earlier judgment which would have been relevant. The significance of a judgment having been decided per incuriam is that it does not then have to be followed as precedent
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
by a lower court. Ordinarily, in the common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, the rationes
Ratio decidendi
Ratio decidendi is a Latin phrase meaning "the reason" or "the rationale for the decision." The ratio decidendi is "[t]he point in a case which determines the judgment" or "the principle which the case establishes."...
of a judgment must be followed thereafter by lower courts hearing similar cases. A lower court is free, however, to depart from an earlier judgment of a superior court where that earlier judgment was decided per incuriam.
The Court of Appeal in Morelle Ltd v. Wakeling [1955] 1 All ER 708, [1955] 2 QB 379 stated that as a general rule the only cases in which decisions should be held to have been given per incuriam are those of decisions given in ignorance or forgetfulness of some inconsistent statutory provision or of some authority binding on the court concerned: so that in such cases some part of the decision or some step in the reasoning on which it is based is found, on that account, to be demonstrably wrong.
In R v. Northumberland Compensation Appeal Tribunal, ex parte Shaw [1951], 1 All ER 268, a divisional court of the King's Bench Division declined to follow a Court of Appeal decision on the ground that the decision had been reached per incuriam as a relevant House of Lords decision had not been cited to the Court of Appeal.
Some academic critics have suggested that Polemis [1921] 3 KB 560 was decided per incuriam as it did not rely upon the earlier decision in Hadley v. Baxendale.