Development of law

Question 1

How did murder develope?

Answer 1

• many of the principles elements of murder are contained and developed in common law, but various additions and changes to the crime, as well as defences to murder, have been developed through statutes
• the courts can still add to the elements, for example, the felony murder rule, which was then abrogated in the crimes act.
• various common law defences can still be raised as defences to murder.

Question 2

How did culpable driving develope?

Answer 2

• the role of the courts is to interpret the legislation and apply it to the facts of the case, for example, automatism is a common law defence
• culpable driving is a statutory offence under the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic)
• culpable driving was originally defined in statute and has been refined through statutory interpretation in court
• the offence was developed in response to high road tolls and irresponsible drivers putting lives at risk

Question 3

How did the tort of negligence develope?

Answer 3

• the tort of negligence has been significantly developed through the courts, but have been modified by parliament through statutes
• the Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) case established the law of negligence and the neighbour principle, which was adopted in Australia in the Grant v Australian Knitting Mills (1936) case
• the main statute which governs negligence is Part X of the Wrongs Act, which was inserted in 2003
• the Wrongs Act changed many aspects of the comon law principle related to negligence

Question 4

How did the tort of defamation develope?

Answer 4

• prior to 2006, the law of defamation in Victoria was governed by common law, and the elements and defences were developed through a series of cases
• a key principle in common law was the distinction between libel and slander, libel being the written word, and slander being the spoken word
• in 2006, uniform legislation came into operation throughout Australia. Each state passed legislation, in Victoria the Defamation Act
• section 7 of the Defamation Act abolished the common law distinction between libel and slander
• the common law principles still apply unless the Defamation Act excludes them