With reference to the powers and functions of the High Court, explain briefly the meaning and scope of the following:
The High Court as a Court of Record
Topic: Court of Record
Answer
A Court of Record is one whose judgements and proceedings are RECORDED AND PRESERVED for perpetual memory and testimony.
(1) These records are of great evidentiary value; they cannot be questioned when produced before any court, and they may be cited as PRECEDENTS in the subordinate courts, which are bound to decide cases in the light of them. (2) As a Court of Record the High Court has the power to PUNISH FOR CONTEMPT of itself, by fine or imprisonment, so that its authority and dignity are maintained.
Three marks, so develop BOTH senses: records as precedents, and the power to punish for contempt. Giving only the first half is the commonest way to lose marks on this question, which recurs almost every year. The contempt power follows logically from the first — a court whose records bind everyone must be able to protect its own authority. The word PRECEDENT is the one to use; it explains why the records matter, not merely that they exist.