What does judicial precedent establish in the English legal system?

Judicial precedent, also known as case law, is a fundamental principle of the English legal system, where past decisions made by courts serve as a binding authority for future cases. This doctrine operates under the principle of "stare decisis," which means "to stand by things decided." When a court makes a ruling on a legal principle in a case, that decision sets a precedent that must be followed by lower courts in similar cases unless it is overturned by a higher court or legislative change.

This mechanism ensures consistency and predictability in the law, allowing individuals and legal entities to have a clearer understanding of their rights and obligations. By relying on established decisions, the judiciary promotes stability in legal interpretations and upholds the rule of law.

In contrast, other options, while relevant to legal discourse, do not accurately capture the essence of what judicial precedent fundamentally establishes in the English legal system. Public policy guidelines may inform judicial decisions but do not represent the binding nature of precedent. Legal obligations denote duties imposed by law, while frameworks for legal theories refer to broader conceptual understandings rather than the application of specific past decisions to current cases. Thus, the nature of judicial precedent is distinctly about law created from past judicial decisions, making this the correct answer.