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COMMERCE > Law, Society & Political Involvement > Flashcards

Law, Society & Political Involvement Flashcards

1
Q

The 4 Main Roles of Law

A
  1. ESTABLISH boundaries of acceptable & determine which actions will not be tolerated.
  2. PROTECTION from the actions of others as well as our own behaviour. It does this by telling society what people cannot do.
  3. FREEDOM to do many things by telling society what people can do. Also involved; rights.
  4. RESOLVING DISPUTES in order to stop people taking the law into their own hands. The legal system provides a police force (or service), court system, & correctional centres (jails or juvenile detention centres) to enforce & administer the law.
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2
Q

Law

A

a set of rules a nation’s citizens/inhabitants must legally abide by

different form school/sport rules as only the police & courts can enforce laws

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3
Q

Court Hierachy

A 
HIGH COURT - top tier
^
SUPREME COURT - second tier
^
DISTRICT COURT - third tier
^
LOCAL COURT - bottom tier

^ = appeals to

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4
Q

Local Court

A 
Has:
- a magistrate
- no jury
—
- can sentence up to 2 years
- issues arrest & search warrants

Deals w/:

  • summary offences
  • minor civil disputes, up to $100,000
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5
Q

District Court

A

Has:

  • a judge
  • a jury

Deals w/:

  • indictable offences
    eg. armed robbery & manslaughter
  • all motor vehicle accidents
  • more serious civil cases, claims of $100,000 to $750,000
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6
Q

Supreme Court

A

Has:

  • a judge
  • a jury (12 for cri. 10 for civ.)

Deals w/:

  • indictable offences
    eg. murder, treason, serious sexual assault
  • most serious civil cases, more than $750,000
  • decisions are binding (compulsory)
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7
Q

High Court

A 
Has:
- 7 Justices;
Chief Justice &
6 Justices (top judges)
- no jury

Deals w/:

  • hears cases concerning the interpretation of the constitution
  • decisions made in this court applies to the whole of Australia
  • most important cases w/ all 7 Justices, any lesser cases w/ a bench of 2 out of the 6 Justices
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8
Q

Specialised Courts

A

These courts are on the same level as The Local Court, or at least start there.

CHILDREN’S COURT

  • care & protection of children
  • closed it the public & media

CORONER’S COURT

  • death of a person where they do not know how or why the person died
  • investigates cause of explosions & fires

FAMILY COURT

  • hears parenting disputes
  • matters of divorce and division of property

DRUG COURT
- aims to deal w/ crimes that occur bc the offender is addicted to drugs

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9
Q

Types of Offences

A

STRICT LIABILITY OFFENCE

  • only actus reus needs to be proven
  • an on-the-spot fine
    eg. refusing to take a breathalyser test, speeding, jaywalking, littering

SUMMARY OFFENCE

  • less serious
  • no jail time, usually just a fine
    eg. refusal to take a breathalyser test, public indecency, joyriding, dining & dashing

INDICTABLE OFFENCE

  • serious
  • would be sent to jail
    eg. armed robbery, murder, manslaughter, assault, treason, vehicular crimes
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10
Q

Incarceration

A

jail time

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11
Q

Parole

A

being let off for good behaviour after minimum jail sentence has been served

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12
Q

Statute Law

A

Parliament-made

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13
Q

Common Law

A

Judge-made

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14
Q

Precedent

A

A previous decision to look back on, in order to make future decisions.

A precedent is about treating people the same in similar circumstances. Helps courts in making fair & just decisions based on the past.

A record of legal precedents resides in books called Law Reports, to be referred to when needed.

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15
Q

Types of Law

A

PUBLIC

  • Administrative
  • Constitutional
  • Criminal
  • Industrial

PRIVATE

  • Contract
  • Family
  • Property
  • Tort
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16
Q

Tort

A

a civil wrong

17
Q

De jure

A

existing or holding a specified position by legal right

18
Q

De facto

A

existing or holding a specified position in fact but not necessarily by legal right

19
Q

Civil Law

A

Torts & contracts.

Legal characteristics of a tort are:

  • Negligence
    where a person fails to take reasonable care, injuring another
  • Defamation
    where a person damages another person’s reputation
  • Nuisance
    where a person causes unreasonable interference w/ another’s right to quiet enjoyment of their property
  • Trespass (includes damages)
    where a person interferes w/ a another’s private property
20
Q

Criminal Law

A

Crimes.

Legal characteristics of a crime are:

  • An act or omission of duty is committed which breaks the law
  • The act or omission is 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 is to be proved accordingly by the criminal procedure
21
Q

Omission

A

failure to act

22
Q

Domestic Law

A 
Laws regulating Australia & its citizens
(Statute law, 
Common law, 
the Constituion, 
the ATSI Peoples’ Customary law),
only applying to a nation
23
Q

International Law

A 
Laws by the United Nations 
(General Assembly, 
Security Council, 
International Court of Justice),
telling countries how to behave towards each other & their own people
24
Q

The Constituion

A

the main legal document, containing rules or principles, of which sets out the power & authority for
States & Federal parliaments in governing a country & its citizens

25
Q

Barriers to Accessing the Law

A
  • Expensive costs
  • Time consuming
  • Long distances
  • Not knowing procedures
  • Language barriers

Important for people to have equal access to the law so that everyone is treated fairly, regardless of the barriers.

26
Q

Ways to Change Laws

A

INDIVIDUAL ACTION

  • individual writes a letter, publishes sm about the issue, refuses to buy a certain product
  • easy to do as it doesn’t require others

POLITICAL PARTIES

  • voting for the political party that will change a law or act in a different matter
  • can support the change or prevent it

LOBBY GROUPS

  • non-exclusive groups specialised in certain issues
    eg. environment, human rights, health, education
  • can put pressure for change in knowing in-depth about an issue

TRADITIONAL MEDIA

  • newspaper, news station, radio
  • provide facts / information / evidence to support point of view / law change
  • journalists are held accountable for what they write, meaning no false information allowed

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit
  • this published media is not always true, people are not always held accountable
  • lobby groups & non-government organisations use to encourage audiences to sign petitions
27
Q

Referendum

A

the process to change the constitution, asks the population a yes or no question

for a change to be approved there must be a double majority voting in favour to the change

28
Q

Double majority

A

more than 50% of the population
&
4 out of the 6 states

29
Q

The 3 Levels of Government

A
  • FEDERAL Australian Parliament,
    in Canberra
  • STATE & TERRITORY parliaments,
    in each capital
  • LOCAL COUNCILS aka shires /
    municipalities,
    over 500 across Australia

Representatives are elevated to federal parliament, state & territory parliaments, & local councils so that all Australians have someone to represent them at each level of government.

Parliaments & councils make laws, government puts these laws into action.

Each level of government provides different services to Australians, sometimes overlapping.

30
Q

The 6 State & 2 Territory Parliaments

A
  • ACT Legislative Assembly
  • Legislative Assembly of NT
  • Parliament of NSW
  • Parliament of TAS
  • Parliament of SA
  • Parliament of VIC
  • Parliament of WA
  • QLD Parliament

**write these out fully, unabbreviate

31
Q

The Political System

A
  • Head of Government (PM)
    &
    Head of State (the Queen)
  • 2 Houses of Parliament;
    Senate (upper)
    House of Representatives (lower)
  • The Separation of Powers
    Parliament writes / passes laws
    Executive administers dep. ministers
    Judiciary courts enforce laws
32
Q

Adversarial System

A

when two opposing parties present their arguments to an independent third party;
LOCAL magistrate
DISTRICT jury, judge sentences p.
SUPREME jury, judge sentences p.

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