Read the text and answer the following questions.
In common law jurisdictions, judges can make case law by setting rules known as ‘precedent’. There are two types of precedent; binding, or persuasive.
A binding precedent is a rule made by a judge which must be followed in a later case with similar facts. The precedent must be followed by all inferior courts and sometimes the decision is binding on the court which made the decision itself. We find the precedent in a part of the judgment known as the ‘ratio decidendi’. This is a Latin phrase which means ‘the reason or rationale for the decision’.
The other things which are said by the judge in the case are known as ‘obiter dictum’. The obiter dictum forms a persuasive precedent. Persuasive precedent does not need to be followed, but can be used to influence decisions in other cases. We find persuasive precedent in the obiter dictum of judgments and in some other places, for example, judgments of inferior courts who cannot make binding precedent.