courts, parliament, criminal law, civil law Flashcards
how does parliament affect courts?
Parliamentary supremacy (sovereignty)
Establishing the courts
Statutory interpretation
what happened with the studded belt case?
the definition of a weapon was too broad so they narrowed it to something that was used with aggressive intent.
what happened in the Kevin and Jennifer case?
the meaning of man was narrow and outdated so it was broadened so it included trans men.
how do courts affect parliament?
comments: on existing and statute law
high profile cases: get a lot of attention, often making the public question / want to change a certain law.
codification: of common law, which changes common law into legislation to make it become statute law.
abrogation: of common law is when parliament decides a law made by the court (common law) isnt good / useful so they render it invalid.
invalidation: of statute law is when the courts enforce the division of law-making powers between states and the commonwealth parliament. the courts decision is binding and cant be abrogated.
criminal law purpose
to protect society from harm and to punish those who offend against our basic values, usually by harming or threatening to harm another.
party bringing the case in criminal law
prosecution (police or DPP)
party defending the case in criminal law
accused
party responsible for proving the case in criminal law
prosecution
outcome of the action in criminal law
sanction if the accused is found guilty(or pleads guilty) the judge will impose a sentence in accordance to the severity of the crime.
purpose of civil law
to provide individuals and organisations the right to seek a remedy if someone harms their individual rights.
types of civil infringements
negligence, nuisance, trespass, defamation
party bringing the case in civil law
plaintiff
party defending the case in civil law
defendant
party responsible for proving the case in civil law
plaintiff
outcome of the action in civil law
remedy if the defendant is found to be liable for infringing on the rights of the plaintiff, the plaintiff will be awarded a remedy as compensation.
original and appellate jurisdiction
original: can hear a case for the first time
appellate: can hear a case on appeal
criminal and civil jurisdiction
criminal: can hear criminal cases
civil: can hear civil cases
high court jurisdiction
only deals with constitutional matters, disputes between states, disputes in which the commonwealth is a party and appeals from the supreme court
supreme court jurisdiction
(also supreme court - court of appeal)
criminal: trials for most serious indictable offences
civil: unlimited but usually hears claims greater than $100,000 or multiple people.
Hears appeals on questions of the law.
court of appeal hears appeals from the county court and supreme court - trial division
county court jurisdiction
criminal: trials for most indictable offences and hears appeals from magistrates.
civil: unlimited trials but usually over $100,000. no civil appeals
magistrates jurisdiction
criminal: minor criminal offences and pre trial hearings. no appellate
civil: claims up to $100,000. no appellate
reasons for the vic courts hierarchy
specialisation: expertise in specific types of cases. it leads to more accurate outcomes
administrative convenience: separating minor offences and disputes from indictable, expensive and time consuming cases. this means superior courts can devote more time and resources to longer, more complex cases to stop the court being clogged up by. minor disputes. it also means the lower courts can resolve a large number of minor cases quickly.
appeals: a request to superior courts to review or alter a previous decision made by a lower court. this gives people a chance to point out flaws.
the doctrine of precedent: legal mechanism by which decisions made in higher courts are followed, in future, by lower courts with similar cases. this ensures consistency, predictability and justice.
