Advantages of Legislation over

Precedent as a source of law

Abrogative Power:

Legislation is both constitutive and abrogative

Precedent merely possesses constitutive efficacy.

Legislation is not only a source of law, but it is equally

effective in amending or annulling the existing law.
Precedent, on the other hand, cannot abrogate the existing
rule of law although it may produce very good law

In some respects better than legislation. What it does, it

does once for all. It cannot retrace its steps. Legislation as a
destructive and reformative agent has no equal

Disadvantages of statute law

Not made by persons who know law

Too rigid

Procedural delay in enactment

Dominated by political agenda

Legislation may at times be a knee jerk reaction

Little public knowledge

Disadvantages of precedent as source of

law

Complex and voluminous

Rigid

Illogical distinction

Unpredictability

Dependence on chance

Unsystamatic progression

Lack of research

Retrospective operation

Undemocratic

Division of labour

Prospective operation

Law making by anticipation

Legislation is more concrete

Advantages of Precedent over

Legislation

Morality of courts is higher than the morality of the

politicians
Judges perform
fearlessly

their

functions

impartially

and

Precedent enjoys greater flexibility than statute law

Equity mitigates rigours of legislation

Statutes not necessarily ensure certainity