Transcript
The second important part of adjudication is decision making.
So in everyday life I can pretty much do what I want. I’m standing in this wide open space, so I could go this way, I could go this way, I could stay where I am, I could sit down on the ground, I could take my hat off and throw it at that annoying crow, or I could take my clothes off (probably not advisable in this cold) – I have total freedom to do whatever I want.
Legal decisions are similar to these day-to-day decisions, but with important differences. Often, they deal with fundamental issues that can be life altering, but they can also be quite trivial.
Legal decisions are like everyday decisions but rules prevent the types of choices which otherwise you might make. For example, not every member of the public can walk into Lincoln’s Inn, unless you’re a member of the Inn.
In law, whether a decision is sustainable, depends on whether it’s lawful or unlawful.
The most important difference is that black-letter law in common-law judgments and parliamentary statutes limits the decisions that an adjudicator can make. If an adjudicator doesn’t follow the legal rules, their decision is unsustainable, meaning that it can be overturned.