Per incuriam meaning

In practice, per incuriam describes a court decision reached because a relevant statute or binding precedent was overlooked; had it been considered, the result would have differed. It is a common-law, case-law term, not statutory, used across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. The test is strict and exceptional: mere misinterpretation, ignoring submissions, or omission of non-binding materials is insufficient; the earlier court must have failed to consider a material statutory provision or binding authority. Typical use, under the doctrine of precedent, is to allow a court to decline to follow an otherwise binding authority, especially an intermediate appellate court faced with its own earlier ruling. In England & Wales, under Young v Bristol Aeroplane, the Court of Appeal may depart from its own decision if the earlier case was decided per incuriam; Northern Ireland follows the same approach. In Scotland and Ireland the concept is recognised, though precedent rules differ; the label is used sparingly and earlier decisions may instead be reconsidered or overruled. Practically, a per incuriam finding reduces or removes precedential force on the overlooked point; unaffected reasoning may remain persuasive.