Strongly Binding Sources

The concept of binding source is equivocal. A legal source can either be strongly or weakly binding. As regards the former, the term formally binding has also been used (MacCormick and Summers 1997, 551). The notion of formally binding means that ignoring the legal source as an argument makes the decision illegal, and it should thus be overruled in appeal (MacCormick and Summers 1997, 554). Further, this sense formal binding can be:

• Strictly binding: The legal source has to be used in all issues it concerns;

• Defeasibly binding: The legal source has to be used in all issues it concerns, unless an exception prevents this (exceptions can be well-defined or subject to interpretation).

According to the Nordic DS doctrine, the following sources are strictly binding: