The president’s citation practice guidance covers ‘citable’ judgments. But what does that really mean, asks David Burrows
- Guidance published earlier this year on the citation of authorities addresses: what constitutes a precedent, what can be cited in court, and what judgments should be published.
- In the context of the guidance and a selection of recent cases, this article examines interpretations of ‘binding’, ‘precedent’ and ‘citable’.
In February, the president of the Family Division published Practice Guidance (Citation of Authorities: Judgments of Circuit Judges) [2025] 1 WLR 1063 (the guidance), in which he deals with two irreconcilable issues: publicity for lesser judges’ judgments (ie, to show what they are up to, perhaps?) and trying to restrict the number of ‘citable’ judgments at different levels. The guidance includes in one document three different elements of law (not only of family law), namely:
i) What in law is a precedent?
ii) What is anyone permitted to cite to a court? (see Practice Direction (Citation of Authorities) [2001] 1 WLR 1001, [2001] Fam Law 794 (the 2001 PD))?
iii) How many judgments should circuit judges and district
