Glossary Terms Unit 1 Flashcards
Social Cohesion
The willingness of the members of a society to collaborate to ensure the safety and well-being of others.
Principles of justice
Fairness, equality and access
Fairness
The principle that all people can participate in the justice system and its processes should be impartial and open.
Equality
The principle that all people engaging with the justice system and its processes should be treated in the same way.
Access
Defined by an individual’s understanding of their legal rights and ability to pursue their case.
Parliament
A legislative body, comprised of elected representatives, that is primarily concerned with creating the laws of society it represents.
Courts
Legal institutions concerned with the interpretation and application of laws, in order to make legal decisions involving crimes or legal disputes.
Common law
The body of law that is derived from judicial reasoning and decisions in past cases.
Statute law
The body of law that comprises laws made by parliament also known as legislation.
Court Hierarchy
The arrangement of courts in order of superiority.
Criminal law
An area of law that aims to protect society from harm by defining prohibited behaviours and outlining sanctions for those who participate in illegal conduct.
Civil law
Governs disputes relating to the rights of two parties, and aims to restore parties to the position they were in before their rights were infringed and they suffered injury or loss.
Indictable offences
Criminal offences that are serious in nature and are generally heard by a judge and jury in the County or Supreme Court.
Police
The institution that has a duty to protect the community in order to promote a safe, secure and orderly society by preventing, investigating and prosecuting crimes.
Delegated bodies
Specialised government agencies that have been given authority from Parliament to make and enforce laws within their area of specialisation.
Institutional powers
The scope that institutions that enforce criminal law such as Victoria Police have to detect and investigate individuals suspected of committing crimes.
Individual rights
People have various entitlements that balance and protect them against institutional powers.
Criminal jurisdictions
The powers the individual courts have to hear different types of cases.
Jury
A group of randomly selected people who are required to deliver a verdict in a trial based on the evidence presented to them in court.
Criminal trial
The government’s opportunity to prosecute and argue its case against an accused and obtain a guilty verdict and the defendant’s conviction.
Punishment
The infliction of pain or loss to ensure an offender is adequately penalised and held accountable for their crimes and their impact on victim and society as a whole.
Deterrence
The action of discouraging an offender, or other individuals, from reoffending or committing similar crimes, through the imposition of a criminal sanction.
Denunciation
The act of publicly condemning an offender’s criminal behaviour.
Protection
The act of ensuring offenders do not pose a significant risk to the welfare and safety of their victims and broader society.
Rehabilitation
The act of restoring an offender to normal life as a law-abiding member of the community after they have engaged in criminal activity.
Fines
A sanction that requires an offender to make a monetary payment as a penalty for a criminal offence.
Community Correction Order
A non-custodial sanction that is served by the offender in the community with certain conditions attached.
Imprisonment
The deprivation of a person’s liberty by removing the offender from society.
Sentencing
The declaration of a punishment decided for the offender.
Drug Court
A specialised division of the Magistrates Court established to treat and rehabilitate offenders with a substance dependency through imposing a drug and alcohol treatment order.
Koori Courts
An alternative sentencing court for First Nations offenders who have pleaded guilty to their criminal offence, and were developed to take into account the different cultural values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Diversion programs
An alternative to the court system that allow low-level offenders to avoid a criminal record, provided they make amends for their wrongdoing.
Presumption of innocence
The right for all accused persons to be presumed innocent until it is proven otherwise beyond reasonable doubt.
Actus Reus
Refers to the physical elements of the crime that must be satisfied in order for an accused person to be found guilty.
Mens Rea
Means ‘guilty mind’ and forms the mental element of a crime that refers to an offender’s awareness of their criminal behaviour and its potential consequences.
Strict Liability
A type of criminal responsibility that does not require the mens rea element of a crime to be proven for the offender to be found guilty.
Age of criminal responsibility
The age at which the law considers a child capable of understanding their wrongful actions and therefore the age at which a child can face criminal charges.
Burden of proof
The responsibility of a party to prove the facts of a case.
Standard of proof
The degree to which the facts of a case must be proven in court.
Crimes against the person
Criminal offences where a person is harmed or harm is threatened.
Crimes against property
Criminal offences that involve using force or deception to obtain, damage or destroy property.
Summary offences
Minor criminal offences usually heard in the Magistrates Court where there is no option for trial by jury.
Principal offenders
Individuals who actually commit the offence and/or are directly linked to the enactment of the crime.
Accessories
People who know or believe that a person is guilty of a serious indictable offence and act to prevent the arrest, prosecution or punishment of that person.
Elements of an offence
What the prosecution needs to prove occurred beyond reasonable doubt in order to establish the guilt of an accused.
Defences
Legally recognised arguments used by a party to justify their actions, so as to claim they are innocent of a crime, or not liable for a civil breach.
Sanctions
Penalties imposed by a court, or an authorised body, on an offender when they plead guilty or are found guilty of a crime.
Criminal offence
When a law is broken, and it is regarded as a crime against the State, a crime has occurred.
