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precedential

precedential

1 8.4
Something that has authority because an earlier decision or example set the rule
  • adjective
  • /ˌprɛsɪˈdɛnʃəl/
  • Formal
: precedente
  • The lawyer argued that the new ruling has significant precedential authority for future cases.
  • precedential value
  • precedential cases
  • precedential effect

Examples

  • Which aspects of case C enjoy precedential effect?

    Academic text (2017)
  • The judgment thus provides the natural starting point for assessing the decision's precedential significance.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Any of these methods would respond to the concern regarding precedential guidance.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The prior decisions, being flawed, are not actually law, and therefore are not entitled to any precedential value.

    Academic text (2016)
  • While precedential guidance can undoubtedly offer important societal benefits, these benefits do not come without cost.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Whether other aspects of case C, such as the narrow-construction canon, have precedential status is far less clear.

    Academic text (2017)
  • But the fifth vote approach also sometimes fails to deliver clear guidance regarding the precedential effect of a plurality decision.

    Academic text (2017)
  • For my own part, I believe that the precedential effect of the canons has generally been underestimated.

    Academic text (2017)
  • If this is true, then Bormann's precedential effect may be limited.

    Academic text (1999)
  • But in the absence of such clear specification, the ordinary default rules for assessing the precedential significance of the Court's decisions apply.

    Academic text (2017)

How Precedential

binding
  • Formal
72 4.6
precedential
  • Formal
1 8.4
persuasive
100 3.9

Surface Forms

precedential positive

Morphology

precedential = precedent (transparent) = precedent + ial

The adjective is a regular derivation from the noun 'precedent' with a standard adjectival suffix, so its meaning is directly related to 'precedent'.

Etymology

Precedential comes from precedent ('an earlier example') and from precede ('to come before'). So something precedential is based on an earlier decision or example and has authority because it came before.