Law, Society & Political Involvement

Question 1

The 4 Main Roles of Law

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

Law

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Court Hierachy

Answer 3

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

^ = appeals to

Question 4

Local Court

Answer 4

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

Question 5

District Court

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Supreme Court

Answer 6

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)

Question 7

High Court

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Specialised Courts

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Types of Offences

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Incarceration

Answer 10

jail time

Question 11

Parole

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Statute Law

Answer 12

Parliament-made

Question 13

Common Law

Answer 13

Judge-made

Question 14

Precedent

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Types of Law

Answer 15

PUBLIC

• Administrative
• Constitutional
• Criminal
• Industrial

PRIVATE

• Contract
• Family
• Property
• Tort

Question 16

Tort

Answer 16

a civil wrong

Question 17

De jure

Answer 17

existing or holding a specified position by legal right

Question 18

De facto

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Civil Law

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Criminal Law

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Omission

Answer 21

failure to act

Question 22

Domestic Law

Answer 22

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

Question 23

International Law

Answer 23

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

Question 24

The Constituion

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Barriers to Accessing the Law

Answer 25

- 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.

Question 26

Ways to Change Laws

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Referendum

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Double majority

Answer 28

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

Question 29

The 3 Levels of Government

Answer 29

- 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.

Question 30

The 6 State & 2 Territory Parliaments

Answer 30

- 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

Question 31

The Political System

Answer 31

- 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

Question 32

Adversarial System

Answer 32

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