It is based on principles and doctrines such as the separation of powers, procedural fairness and judicial precedents (Akpet, 2011 p73). Judicial precedent is more commonly known as the doctrine of precedent, under which judges are required to decide each case along the lines of similar prior cases and decisions. If the facts of the previous cases were not exactly the same, the judge could still compare the situations and apply a common principle or develop a new, reasonably similar principle for the new facts. In Australia, where there is a hierarchy of courts, a decision of a higher court is binding on lower courts (James, Muston & Rice, 2014). In a common law system, disputes are resolved through an adversarial exchange of arguments and evidence. Both parties and/or their legal representatives present their cases before a neutral fact-gatherer, who is a judge (or judge and jury). The judge or jury evaluates the evidence, applies the appropriate law to the facts, and renders a ruling in favor of one party. Following the decision, either party may appeal to a higher court. Appellate courts in a common law system can only review conclusions of law, not determinations of fact (TheFreeDictionary.com,