ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the way in which judges reach decisions in particular cases. Central to the common law is the doctrine of judicial precedent. This means that, depending on the level of the court in the hierarchy, previous ‘decisions’ of one court are supposed to be binding on later courts. The implication of the traditional approach to precedent is that it is a strictly applied, highly rational and almost scientific process. However, as will be demonstrated, the mechanisms deployed by judges in deciding cases allow them a large degree of discretion in reaching decisions. This introduction of the possibility of discretion necessarily opens the question of the accountability of the judges, which will be addressed directly in the following chapter.
