VCE Legal Studies Practice Exam

The idea being tested is how the doctrine of precedent can be flexible or limiting in how the law develops. Flexibility through different methods of overcoming precedent is not a weakness; it is a strength because it gives the courts ways to adapt when past decisions no longer fit new facts or social changes. Overruling, distinguishing, or applying precedents in light of new reasoning allows the law to evolve without abandoning the entire system. By contrast, statements about lower courts being restricted from making law, judges in superior courts being reluctant to reverse precedents, or courts being reactive describe real limitations on legal development and are weaknesses of the doctrine.