遵循先例原则是普通法的产物。但是,尽管普通法的产生可以追溯到诺曼人征服时期,然而严格意义的遵循先例原则却在十九世纪初才正式确立。这一原则的含义是,“高级法院所作的现行判决……如果它们规定的原则是清楚的,确定的,并且可以适用于眼前处理的案件事实的话,这些判决不论审判官们喜欢与否,都是具有拘束力的”。 Following the precedent principle is the product of common law. However, while the common law came back to the Norman conquest, the strictly precedent-based principle was formally established in the early nineteenth century. The implication of this principle is that “the prevailing judgments of the High Court ... if the principles they provide are clear, definite and applicable to the facts of the case before them, regardless of whether the magistrates like it or not Is binding. ”