Young v. Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd

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Young v. Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd ([1944] KB 718 CA) was an English court case that established that the Court of Appeal is bound to follow its own decisions and those of courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction, except in the following cases:

1. The court is entitled and bound to decide which of two previous conflicting decisions of its own it will follow;
2. the court is bound to refuse to follow a decision of its own which cannot stand with a decision of the House of Lords;
3. the court is not bound to follow a decision of its own if the decision was given per incuriam, e.g., where a statute or a rule having statutory effect which would have affected the decision was not brought to the attention of the earlier court.

However, there are a few other possible exceptions that may be worth considering. These are:

1. Decisions on interlocutory appeals, for example, decisions taken by a Court of Appeal of only two judges
2. Where the decision from the House of Lords was made on an unwarranted assumption.
3. That the decision was made before the Human Rights Act, and so may be contrary to it.

[edit] References

• Young v. Bristol Aeroplane Co Ltd