Law, Society and Political Involvment Flashcards
What are 2 ways to make laws?
Statutory law (Acts of Parliament)
- Common Law
Explain Statute Law today?
- In Aus: laws created by parliament have the highest status and must be obeyed by all people.
- Parliament makes laws: Federal level - makes laws on issues that affect the whole country.
- AND : Each state and territory has its own parliament: makes laws that are applicable to state only.
- The State Parliament delegates some of its law-making power to local councils.
- Once each law has been passed, it is binding on all courts and judges.
- Statute law always succeeds over common law and no court has the power to change it. - The only exception is the High Court, which has the power to overturn a law, but only if it is unconstitutional.
Explain constitution?
-Document re powers/restrictions parliaments law-making authority.
-Aus.Constitution limits the powers of the Federal Parliament.
-State Parliament :restricted by the state’s Constitution and,
-The state governments retain the power to make laws unless the Constitution hands this power to the Australian government.
… sometimes disagreements between the Aus. and state gov. re power to make laws on certain issues. ..the matter is decided by the High Court.
Summarize Aus. Constitution ( Section 109) ?
Outlines that if any inconsistencies between Commonwealth and state legislation then the Commonwealth laws will apply.
What is Common Law?
-Laws developed piece by piece by judges, as new problems in the cases arise.
-Judges kept records of their decisions, referred to when hearing similar cases.
Uses of Common Law today?
Judges: may need to decide on a case where there is no existing law that regulates it.
-A record of these decisions will be placed in books called Law Reports so that a legal precedent can be set.
What is a precedent?
Precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case relevant to a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts - judges enact an act of precedent.
-Precedent enables fairness and justice as similar cases are dealt with in the same way.
Explain Statutory Observation?
-Courts also make laws when they “interpret “ words in a law made by Parliament. – Although only Parliament can change the wording of a law, when a court interprets a word: this new meaning applies as law from then on.
In Australia, the law is a combination of both common and statute law.
How does a BILL become a law?
Before any proposed laws can become Acts of Parliament, they have to be debated/passed by parliament: then approved by the Executive Council, the head of state, government ministers.
What are steps for a BILL becoming Law ?
- new law is discussed in Cabinet.
2.If gov decides to proceed, gov lawyers draft a bill: ie ‘first draft’ of an Act
of Parliament.
3.Copies of bill given to House of
Representatives: ie ‘first reading’.
4.‘second reading’:
responsible minister describes the main purpose and likely benefits
of the bill> Debate! > Vote!
(majority vote in favour, the bill moves to the next stage. - bill is debated again: ie
Committee stage… debate continues Changes to the bill may be made. - ‘third reading’ in the house> vote >majority vote: then bill is
passed through to the Senate. - Similar processes to steps 3 to 6 occur in the Senate. If the
Senate decides to change something, the bill is referred back to the House
of Representatives for another debate and vote.
Sometimes the Senate may
refuse to approve a bill.
See EG in notes re money supply bill***
8.The Governor-General meets with a select government ministers: Executive Council. If approved/signs the bill,
becomes an Act of Parliament: now legally binding for all Australians.
What is a BILL?
Proposal for a new law or a change (amendment) to an existing one: must be passed by both houses of the Gov to become an Act.
What is a REFERENDUM?
- A vote used to approve a change to the Constitution: starts as a bill and presented to the Australian people as a YES or NO poll
- only passed if it is approved by a majority of voters across the nation and a majority of voters in a majority of states—this is known as a “double majority”
What is the purpose of Referendums?
- protect the Constitution from being changed by politicians seeking more power for themselves
- ensure that the two most populous states, NSW /Victoria, could not dominate govin a way that disadvantages the smaller states
Who proposes changes to the constitution?
1.State governments
2.Federal government after inquiry re constitutional change
3.Community pressure
What is a plebiscite?
-Gov hold plebiscites to test whether people either support or oppose a proposed action
-GOV is not bound by the ‘result’ of a plebiscite as it is by the rest of a Constitutional referendum.
-The Government would decide whether it was compulsory to vote.
