The principle that an appellate court's decision on a legal issue is binding on both the trial court on remand and an appellate court on a subsequent appeal in the same case and with substantially the same facts. That is, under the law of the case doctrine, questions of law decided on appeal to a court of last resort usually govern the case throughout its later phases. The law of the case is meant to:

Additionally, the doctrine typically does not apply to:

The application of the doctrine is within the court's discretion. Appellate courts have discretion to depart from the law of the case doctrine in exceptional circumstances.

For additional information on the principle of precedent, see stare decisis.