Page "Common law" Paragraph 1

A " common law system " is a legal system that gives great precedential weight to common law ,< ref > Washington Probate, " Estate Planning & Probate Glossary ", Washington ( State ) Probate, s. v.

" common law ",, 8 Dec. 2008: < http :// www. wa-probate. com / Intro / Estate-Probate-Glossary. htm >, retrieved on 7 November 2009 .</ ref > on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different occasions.

The body of precedent is called " common law " and it binds future decisions.

In cases where the parties disagree on what the law is, a common law court looks to past precedential decisions of relevant courts.

If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision ( this principle is known as stare decisis ).

If, however, the court finds that the current dispute is fundamentally distinct from all previous cases ( called a " matter of first impression "), judges have the authority and duty to make law by creating precedent.

Thereafter, the new decision becomes precedent, and will bind future courts.