Abstract
The practical influence of the principle "stare decisis", which is enshrined in § 13 of the Czech Civil Code rests on a significant strengthening of the normative force of the case law, which results in its so-called discursive binding effect. The answer to the question of what consequences has had the inception of the "stare decisis" principle into the legal order of the Czech Republic was given by Aleš Gerloch together with Jan Tryzna in the article: "Úvaha nad principem legitimního očekávání obdobného posouzení právního případu" [Consideration on the Principle of the Legitimate Expectation of Judicial Decision of Similar Legal Case] (Soudce, 2014, roč. 16, č. 4. s. 15-19).
In this article they concluded that the application of § 13 of the Civil Code it can be problematic because "it tries to reconcile two principles in conflict, ie, on the one hand, the requirement to maintain the status quo achieved, on the other, the need to change case law". The aim of this article is therefore to consider and follow up the thoughts of Aleš Gerloch and Jan Tryzna and to ask the extent to which the judge is bound by the statutory law, to what extent to the case-law, what does it mean the so-called discursive binding effect of the case-law, and what consequences it has.