16 August 2007
Gibson v Government of the USA [2007] UKPC 52, [2007] All ER (D) 358 (Jul)
The principle of stare decisis is not absolute and the Privy Council should exercise its power to depart from precedent if it concludes that one of its own previous decisions is incorrect, even if that incorrect decision could no longer be regarded as impeding the proper development of the law. There must, however, be some special reason over and above the belief that the prior case was wrongly decided.
