A case comes before the Court of Appeal (Civil Division). There are two past conflicting precedents, one from the court of Appeal Five Bench Judge and the second from Court of Appeal Three Bench Judge decided in 1999. (6marks)

1. While there are complex rules regarding when courts can avoid their own past precedent,one aspect of the doctrine of precedent is quite simple. A court is strictly bound to followthe decisions of a court of equal to or higher than it in the hierarchy of the courts, subjectto well defined exceptions.