Stare decisis limits reopening settled law but permits reconsideration for public policy or remedying continued injustice. The doctrine of stare decisis obliges courts and statutory tribunals to follow prior competent decisions to ensure legal certainty, and cautions against disturbing settled law absent palpable error. It is not absolute: larger benches may revisit earlier rulings for reasons such as public policy, public good, or to remedy continued injustice, and precedents frame the tests for when such reconsideration is appropriate.