EXAM Flashcards
1
Q
What are legal rules?
A
LAWS - permit, modify or prohibit the activities of all people in the community
2
Q
What are non-legal rules?
A
RULES - determine what behaviour is unacceptable in particular groups or institutions
3
Q
What is the difference between laws and rules?
A
- who has to follow them
- how the are enforced
4
Q
Rules
A
- enforced by the organisation who made them
- only binding on those who mae them and/or voluntarily submitted them
5
Q
Laws
A
- enforced by the state through government officilas, police and courts
- binding on everyone in the community
6
Q
What is criminal law and examples?
A
Cases in which a person has committed an offence against the well being of the community
- murder / assault
- theft / property damage
7
Q
What is a summary offence? eg.
A
Less serious criminal offences usually heard in Magistrate’s court
- speeding, literring
8
Q
What is an indictable offence? eg.
A
Serious criminal offences heard before a judge and jury in County or Supreme courts
- armed robbery
- culpable driving
9
Q
What are the rules behind children under 10?
A
- cannot be held responsible for committing a crime
- believed they don’t know the difference between right and wrong
10
Q
What are the rules behind children aged 10-14?
A
- presumed to not understand the consequences of their actions
- up to the prosecution or police to prove they knew what they were doing was wrong
11
Q
What are the rules behind children aged 15 and up?
A
- young people can be punished
- sanctions, court might be different from adults
12
Q
What is civil law and examples?
A
Cases with a private dispute betwen 2 individuals
- defamation
- negligence
- nuisance
13
Q
Why do we need civil laws?
A
- protect rights
- impose duty on others
- provide a solution such as compensation in the event of a breach of civil right
14
Q
What are the possible court findings for criminal law?
A
guilty
not guilty
no decision
15
Q
What are the possible court findings for civil law?
A
liable
not liable
16
Q
What is the standard of proof for criminal law?
A
beyond reasonable doubt
17
Q
What is the standard of proof for civil law?
A
on the balance of probability
18
Q
What is the burden of proof for criminal law?
A
prosecution
19
Q
What is the burden of proof for civil law?
A
plaintiff
20
Q
What is the order of the court hierarchy?
A
high court
supreme
county
coroners / magistrate’s / children’s
21
Q
What are some factors of the Supreme Court? (4)
A
- indictable offences (murder, manslaughter)
- jury of 12 for all criminal trials
- hears civil appeals from magistrate’s
- only hears civil cases where plaintiff is seeking large amount of damages
22
Q
What are some factors of the County Court? (3)
A
- indictable offences (serious assaults, drug trafficking)
- civil cases where plaintiff is seeking over $100,000 in damages
- limited to hearing appeals from criminal in magistrates
23
Q
What are some factors of the Magistrate’s Court? (4)
A
- hears civil cases where plaintiff is seeking damages up to $100,000
- never has a jury
- never hears appeals
- hears summary offences (property damage)
24
Q
What is specialisation?
A
the courts are ranked in order of important according to types of cases they hear
25
What is a precedent?
high court makes a decision that is binding on lower courts in the same hierarchy
26
What is rights of appeal?
you can appeal to a higher court which allows for mistakes to be corrected and provides fairness
27
What is administrative convenience?
allows for distribution of cases according to their seriousness, hierarchy allows judges and legal people to be allocated to courts according to the level of expertise
28
What is the children's court purpose?
- rehab not punishment
- presided over by a magistrate
- hear and determine cases involving children and young people
29
What are the 2 children's court divisions
family
criminal
30
What is the family division?
cases for children 0-17 years of age who are in need of care and protection as -
- ill treated to abused
- being abandoned
- having no one to look after them
31
What is the criminal division?
defendant is 10-18 years old when the crime was committed and under 19 when trial occurs
32
What happens in the Coroner's Court?
- investigates unexpected or serious death (all deaths from fires and drownings)
- presided over by a coroner
33
What is a committal hearing?
- heard in the magistrates court
- magistrate decides whether the accused is guilty and determines if a trial is necessary or what court
- ensured no time is wasted in higher courts
34
What is bail?
the release of an accused person back into society while awaiting trial
35
What is remand?
to hold a person in custody while awaiting trial
36
What is statute law?
law made by parliament
37
What is common law?
law made by judges in courts
38
Criminal jury
- 12 jurors
- never found in magistrates court
- all criminal cases involving indictable offences in county or supreme
- paid for by vic state government
39
Civil jury
- 6 jurors
- optional
- have to pay for one
role -
- decide liability
- determine damages
40
What does ineligible mean?
- incapable of performing jury duty, (deaf blind)
- can't speak english
- employed in legal industry or have worked in the past 10 years (lawyer, police)
41
What does disqualification mean?
- been imprisoned for 3 months or more in the last 5 years (criminal record)
- have served at least 3 years in jail in their life
- are on remand, bail
42
What does excused mean?
able to be excused for a good reason
- illness or poor health
- distance
- advanced age
- cause substantial hardship
43
what is the jury process?
1. turn 18 and put your name in electoral roll
2. chosen at random time and receive a questionnaire
3. complete questionnaire (could be ineligible)
4. if eligible and not disqualified attend jury pool (could be excused)
5. if not excused then wait to be empanelled
44
What are 3 strengths of a jury?
1. involved a broad cross section of people reflecting community values
2. helps promote an understanding of legal system to citizens
3. gives community confidence that they are being 'tried by their peers'
45
What are 3 weaknesses of a jury?
1. lots of people get out of jury duty so its not a true cross section of community
2. adds to the time and cost of trial
3. do not have to give reasons for their decisions so there is no transparency
46
What do banks look at when applying for a loan?
- banks look at employment
- level of income
- how much debt you have
47
What is an advantage of paying more than the minimum on a credit card?
- lower interest rates
- pay it off faster
48
What is a credit card?
issued by a financial institution, usually for an annual fee
- consumer can spend up to a predetermined level
- receive monthly statement to pay back fee either full or part
49
What is the labour force?
Employed + unemployed over 15 years
50
What is the non labour force?
People who are not actively looking to find work.
- retired
- full time students
- volunteers
51
Where and how is the unemployment rate measured?
Australian Bureau of statistics and using labour force surveys
52
What is unemployment?
Unemployment is a situation where people are willing and able to work and acitvely looking for it, just unable to find it.
53
What is employment?
Work at least 1 hour a week, earning money. Enables us to earn an income so we can purchase the goods and services we want.
54
How is the unemployment rate calculated?
number of people employed/number of people in the labour force
x
100/1
55
What are some limitations of the unemployment rate?
- unemployment rate ignores hidden employment
- unemployment rate ignores underemployment
- misleading survey answers
- statistical problems
56
What is hidden employment?
- rejected multiple times
- discouraged job seekers
57
What does underemployment mean?
- those working below capacity
eg. part-time but want full-time
58
What is a misleading survey?
- some people might provide misleading information in fear of losing benefits when responding to survey's
59
What are some statistical problems?
- small sample size
- imputed data
60
What is the estimated unemployment rate?
4.1%
61
What are 4 causes of unemployment?
1. cyclical unemployment
2. structural unemployment
3. seasonal unemployment
4. frictional unemployment
62
What is cyclical unemployment?
- level of spending in the economy falls
- leading to reduced spending, reduced production, reduced need for labour
63
What is structural unemployment?
- changes in the ways goods and services are produced
- often due to changes in technology
64
What is seasonal unemployment?
- termination of jobs at the same time each year due to the regular change in seasons
65
What is frictional unemployment?
- unemployed between finishing one job and starting another
66
What is long-term unemployment?
Those unemployed for 52 consecutive weeks or longer (more than a year)
67
Who is youth unemployment rates for?
15-24 year olds
68
Current rate of youth unemployment
Around 8% (approx 8.2%)
69
What are living standards?
Refer to how well off or prosperous individuals and the nation are overall. Includes both material and non-material wellbeing
70
What is material wellbeing?
Refers to the enjoyment received from access to goods and services
71
What is non-material wellbeing?
Refers to the quality of life which is not related to the size of income and quantity of goods and services consumed
72
What are some effects of unemployment on individuals and families?
- reduced incomes
- family unhappiness
- lower self image
- less healthy
- less superannuation at retirement
73
What are some effects of unemployment on business and society?
- ripple effect on businesses
- increased crime and vandalism
- lower material living standards with fewer goods and services being produced
- increase incidence of family breakdown
74
What are some effects of unemployment on the government?
- lowers number of income earners
- less government revenue collected from income tax
- pay more unemployment benefits
75
What is a closed court?
Court not open to the public (childrens court)
sexually assault cases are partially closed
76
What are the 3 levels of government?
Federal
State
Local
77
What is the main source of income for Federal government?
income tax
company tax
78
What is the main source of income for State government?
GST (goods and services tax)
stamp duty
79
What is the main source of income for Local government?
rates
80
What are some responsibilities for Federal government?
- foreign affairs
- trade
- immigration
- defence
81
What are some responsibilities for State government?
- schools
- hospitals
- water
- public transport (ptV)
82
What are some responsibilities for Local government?
- animal control
- parks
- garbage collection
- swimming pools
83
What are the headings for a cash budget?
expected cash receipts
total cash receipts
less expected cash payments
total cash payments
excess receipts over payments
bank balance at beginning of month
estimated bank balance at end of month
84
What is a tarrif?
duties imposed by a government on imported or in some countries exported goods.
85
What are bi-lateral relationships?
- the political, economic, or cultural relations between two independent states
- the countries have mutual benefits
- also possibly eliminated or reduced tariffs
86
What are some benefits of trade?
- creates jobs
- better relationships
- contributes to global efficiency
87
How are referendums passed?
you have to have double majority
- majority of yes votes from electors in all states and territories
- majority of electors in a majority of states
88
How can you change the constitution
pass a referendum
89
What is the structure of federal parliament?
senate
house of representatives
90
What is the structure of state/victorian parliament?
legislative council
legislaive assembly
91
What is a ministers?
members of gov who represent their electorate and who have been given a portfolio
92
What is a portfolio? egs
minister's area of responsibility as a member of Cabinet.
eg
health, environment, defence, foreign affairs, trade and immigration.
93
What is a back-bencher?
debate and vote on bills – proposed laws – , raise issues of concern to their electorate or state/territory and participate in parliamentary committees.
94
What is the role of the governor-general?
- kings representative
- make decisions on behalf of the king
- royal assent (final on passing laws)
95
What is an electorate?
geographical area of Australia represented by a member of parliament elected to the House of Representatives.
96
What is the first past the post voting method?
simple majority
- more votes than anyone else
- tick/cross the person you want
eg.
A - 3 votes
B - 1 vote
C - 4 votes
= C would be elected
97
What is the preferential voting method?
- voters rank their candidates 1,2,3,4 etc.
- must have ABSOLUTE majority to be elected (50%+1)
- not absolute majority, goes by preferences
eg.
A - 4
B - 2
C - 10
D - 3
= C would be elected as absolute majority
98
What is the proportional voting method?
- Voters may indicate their preference by placing all the candidates in order of preference or just vote for a party by placing 1 on the top line next to their party of choice.
- elect senators w/ proportional
- representatives must attract a certain percentage of votes
- once votes recieved, rep will pass to another member or party
99
Who can vote in Australia?
all aus citizens over the age of 18 and enrolled in the electoral roll must vote
100
What is a formal vote?
- ballot paper filled correctly
- includes a number 1
- vote IS counted
101
What is an informal vote?
- not marked properly (eg. marked with drawings)
- vote is NOT counted
102
What is a donkey vote?
- voters list their preferences the same order they are listed
- vote IS counted
103
What is the senate?
upper house for federal (elected every 6 years)
104
How many people are in the senate?
76 senators
- 12 from each state
105
What is the role of the senate?
- safeguards interests of all states
- represent interests of the the voters
