Half yearly Flashcards
What is the purpose of laws
To prevent incidents that could cause serious injury or death, to keep everyone safe and to make sure we don’t destroy the environment.
List Australian age restrictions
There isn’t a minimum age for casual or part time work but the minimum age for door to door sales are 14 and 9 months, you aren’t allowed to vote until you are over 18, you must be 18 or over to consume alcoholic drinks or smoke, you must be at least 16 to drive legally in NSW and students must turn 17 years of age or complete 10th grade whichever comes first to leave school.
How was aboriginal law passed down to future generations?
Aboriginal law was passed orally meaning by mouth.
What was their legal system based on?
Their legal system was based on customs and rituals.
Who carried out the punishments?
A group of elders were responsible for carrying out punishments.
What is aboriginal law based on?
Aboriginal law is and was based on rules that outline the correct way of living in everyday situations.
What is payback?
Payback is a form of mostly physical and sometimes deadly, punishment carried by elders or victims to the member of a group who broke the law. After an incident happens, the parties involved meet and negotiate a way to restore balance.
What is spearing?
Spearing: A traditional punishment where the offender is speared in the thigh or calf.
What is pointing the bone?
Singing a person: sometimes referred to as pointing the bone is an aboriginal punishment where the Kurdaitcha calls the spirits to do ill to another aboriginal person alleged to have committed a crime or otherwise abused their culture
What is the significance of the magna carta
The magna carta is a set of rules that led to liberty and freedom. It is significant as it led to people in England having more freedom and liberty. It was made as King John thought himself above the law so he committed acts resulting in him receiving more money. When the barons announced their rebellion, king john surrendered. The magna carta was written on animal skin in 1215.
What is the history of the magna carta
1215 (charter of liberties): the original version meaning “the article of barons”. Was abolished 3 months after by King John.
1216 (charter of liberties): a version issued by Henry III (john’s son). Was created towards the end of the war to persuade rebel barons to swear allegiance to the new kings.
1217 (Magna Carta): a version created by Henry III. After the rebel civil war ended, it was the first version called the magna carta. The forest charter was also issued limiting the amount of income made from the Royal Forests. Magna carta means Great charter.
1225 (Magna Carta): a version made by Henry III. A shortened version of 1217 magna carta. Was issued in return to allow tax levels to be increased. First to be integrated into English statute law.
1297 (Magna Carta): a version made by Edward I (Henry’s son). Was incorporated into the statute and in return allowed Edward to increase taxes. Was sent to Australia 28th November 1952.
What are the details of the Australian constitution?
Chapter 1: The Parliament
This chapter establishes the Commonwealth Parliament as the Legislative Branch of government.
Chapter 2: The executive government
This chapter deals with the Executive Government, the branch of government which carries out and enforces the laws.
Chapter 3: The judicature
This chapter provides for the establishment of the Judicature, the branch of government dealing with the courts of law.
Chapter 4: Finance and Trade
This chapter deals with finance and trade. One of the most important sections is Section 83 which provides that no money is to be drawn from the Treasury except under an appropriation by law.
Chapter 5: The states
This chapter deals with the States, providing for the continuance of their constitutions, parliamentary powers and laws. Other sections prohibit the States from coining money, raising armed forces or discriminating against the residents of other States. This section also requires that the Commonwealth is to protect the states against invasion or domestic violence.
Chapter 6 – New States
This chapter deals with the procedures for the establishment of new States and provides for the surrender of territories to the Commonwealth by States.
Chapter 7 – Miscellaneous
This Miscellaneous chapter has two sections, one dealing with the establishment of the seat of government, the other providing for the appointment of deputies of the Governor-General. Section 127, dealing with the counting of Aborigines in censuses, was deleted by referendum in 1967.
Chapter 8 – Alteration of the Constitution
This chapters deals with Alteration of the Constitution. It provides that proposals for constitutional alteration be initiated by the Parliament and approved in a referendum by a majority of voters Australia-wide and a majority of voters in a majority of States
What are the state and federal authorities?
The federal government has limited power over all fifty states. State governments have the power to regulate within their state boundaries. State powers are also limited in the sense that states cannot make laws that conflict with the laws of the federal government.
What are offences against the person?
Crimes against the person that are acts or omissions that harm other people. They include murder, assault and sexual assault.
What are offences against the sovereign?
These are the acts or omissions which aim to disrupt or harm the governing bodies of a country. They include spying, treason, illegal demonstrations and trespass on government and to prevent the government from doing something.
What are drug offences?
These offences include possession of illegal drugs, trafficking, cultivation, manufacture and importation of illegal drugs. Possession of an illegal drug means to have enough drugs for personal use only. Trafficking means having a trafficable quantity of drugs, which is an amount deemed greater than that which a person could use for himself or herself. This is a far more serious crime than possession. This act makes possession, trafficking and other drug offences illegal.
What are driving offences?
Most driving offences are summary or regulatory offences, such as speeding or not wearing a seatbelt. These types of driving offences are strict liability. However, driving offences can also be more serious, for example negligent driving and reckless driving
What is mens rea?
Mens rea means ‘the guilty mind’. Traditionally this means a person is guilty of a crime only if he or she carried out the criminal act (actus reus) and intended to do so. Mens rea includes not only the intention to commit the crime, but can also include recklessness or gross negligence. Mens rea is proved if the person committing the criminal act did so with one of the following states of mind:
The intention or specific desire to commit the act or omit the duty
Recklessness (which means that the person could foresee the probability of harm, but acted anyway)
Negligence (which means that the person failed to exercise the degree of care, skill or foresight that a reasonable person would have exercised in the same circumstances)
What is actus reus
guilty act
What is strict liability
The act
What are public order offences?
Public orders offences are acts which occur in a public place and are seen as offensive or disruptive to the general population. They are generally minor.
What are preliminary crimes?
To commit a preliminary crime is to try to commit an act or omission, or to plan to do so. It does not matter whether the crime is successfully committed or not. Having the intention to do so is enough
What are the two main types of preliminary crimes?
Conspiracy: This occurs where two or more people agree to do an unlawful act or to do a lawful act by unlawful means
Attempt: If a crime is attempted but not successfully committed, then the crime of attempt applies.
What are regulatory offences
Regulatory offences are usually set out in delegated legislation, such as regulation or local laws that address a range of day-to-day situations and standards.
What do regulatory offences include?
Watering the garden despite water restrictions being in place
Breaching the workplace health and safety regulations
Travelling on public without a valid ticket
Lighting a fire or barbecue on a day of total fire ban
Provide examples of public order offences
The most common public order offences under the Summary Offences Act are: offensive language, offensive conduct, willful and obscene exposure, violent disorder, failure to move on and custody of a knife in a public place.
What are the important features of actus reus
That the act or omission actually took place
That it was done by the accused person
That it was voluntary
What is a crime?
A crime is ‘an act committed of duty, injurious to the public welfare, for which punishment is prescribed by law, imposed in a judicial proceeding usually brought in the name of the state
What is the meaning of crime
The legal characteristics of a crime, as suggested in the definition above, are:
. There must be an act, or a failure to act (an omission), which breaks the law
. the act or omission must be seen as harmful to the whole community
. the act or omission is punishable by the state
. the state takes the person who committed the act to court, where the offence must be proved according to the rules of criminal procedure
What are the elements of a crime?
For most types of crime, two elements need to be proved before it can be said that a criminal offence has occurred and that the accused person is criminally liable. To be criminally liable is to be responsible under the law for a criminal offence. The two elements of a crime that must be proved are actus reus (the conduct of the offender) and mens rea (the mental state of the offender).
What does the local court deal with?
Simple crimes
What does the district and supreme court deal with?
Large scale crimes
What are the categories of crime
drug, driving, regulatory, offences against the person, offences against the sovereign and public order offences, preliminary crimes,
What is the purpose of the Australian constitution?
It establishes the form of federal government and sets out the basis for relations between the Commonwealth and the states.
Why the constitution was created
To create a government with enough power to act on a national level but without so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk.
