The common law in England is different than it is in America. The two systems, of course, had a common historical origin and both are clearly common law systems. But the status and practice of stare decisive in each is not generally the same. In England, adherence to past judicial precedent is quit rigorous. For many years the highest court, the House of Lords, held itself absolutely bound by it previous decisions, on the famous reasoning of Lord Halsbury: " There may be a current of opinion in the profession that such a judgment was erroneous; but what is that occasional interference with what is perhaps abstract justice as compared with the inconvenience -the disastrous inconvenience -of having each question subject to being reargued and the dealings of mankind rendered doubtful." London Streets Tramway Company v. London County Council (1898) A.C. 375.