Respect for precedents as the right to equality in law enforcement

Abstract

Historically, applying the law waves. First, the judge was free. Then, the independence of the judge was weak. Since the development of a system where the norm is not the only source of the law, the exchange between different models, such as the American and the European ones, has increased. Preserving values and applying the law stably, consistently, and equally are ideas that have been improving. The new Code of Procedure from 2015 (CPC
2015) says that lower courts shall observe the high court decisions. It is worthy of the system. In fact, it reduces the number of appeals, procedures length of time, and the lack of trust in enforcement law. Courts' unique competencies are the framework of the Judiciary Branch. On the one hand, the lower courts judge the facts, working on the pieces of evidence. On the other hand, the high courts dictate what the interpretation of the law must be. It gives unit and coherence to the system. It does not mean that lower court judges are bounded since they still are the ones who will deal with which particular case. Therefore, they can apply the law precisely. Nonetheless, respect to the precedents does not means that they are settled. The idea is to avoid that the judges act by their own will, even when they have good feelings. Hence, the rule of law is preserved by respecting the precedents.