Jurisprudence constante

Jurisprudence constante, French for stable or constant jurisprudence, is a legal doctrine under which a long series of previous decisions applying a particular legal principle or rule is highly persuasive but not controlling in later cases dealing with similar or identical issues of law. The doctrine is recognized in most civil law jurisdictions and in certain mixed jurisdictions such as Louisiana. It compares directly with stare decisis, but the Louisiana Supreme Court notes a principal difference: a single court decision can provide a sufficient foundation for stare decisis, whereas a series of adjudicated cases all in accord forms the basis for jurisprudence constante. The Louisiana Court of Appeal has noted that in Louisiana it is only a secondary source of law, which cannot be authoritative, because legislation is the source of law and the civilian tradition does not recognize stare decisis.