Effect of Precedent on Statutory Law: A Comprehensive Critique

An important legal rule that ties common law systems to statutory law is the doctrine of precedent. This article examines the relationship between case law and statutory law, focusing on how statutes are applied, altered, and expanded through judicial decisions. With reference to the identified functions, advantages, and disadvantages of departing from precedent, this article critically discusses both positive and negative implications of judicial dependence on precedent in the statute interpretation process and in the direction of legal comprehensibility and continuity. Drawing on the analysis of key cases and academic points of view to the subject, this article offers a critique of the impact of precedent on statutory law as well as proposes guidelines to improve the relationship between the two sources of law.