A decision by the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of
Session (Scotland) or Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) is only
binding in the area of its jurisdiction and not in the rest of the
United Kingdom but the other courts may well take note of the
decision when considering a similar case within their own
jurisdiction.
An appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal or the
Court of Session can only be made to the House of Lords. A decision
of the House of Lords is the last word on a point of law. It can
generally be displaced only by legislation. In a 1966 Practice
Statement, the House of Lords announced that it would in future
depart from its own previous decisions where it appeared right to
do so but has done so only rarely (see Fitzleet Estates Ltd v
Cherry 51TC708 and Vestey v CIR 54TC503). A decision of any other
Court with jurisdiction over appeals is binding on Courts
subordinate to that Court, and on the General and Special
Commissioners.
A decision of the Courts of the Irish Republic is not binding
on any tribunal or Court in the United Kingdom, but where the same
point is in issue in a UK appeal and the relevant tax law is the
same, the Commissioners as a rule give weight to the decision.
