legal studies unit 2 AOS 2 Flashcards
remedy
any order made by a court that is designed to address a civil wrong or breach. A remedy should provide a legal solution for the plaintiff for a breach of the civil law by the defendant and restore the plaintiff to the position they were in before they were wronged.
three principles of justice are…
fairness, equality and access
access
means that all people should be able to engage with the justice system
fairness
Fairness means all people can participate in the justice system and its processes should be open and impartial
equality
means all people engaging with the justice system and its processes should be treated in the same way
dispute resolution methods
arbitration, mediation and conciliation
mediation
is a method of dispute resolution that uses an independent third party (i.e. a mediator) to help the disputing parties reach a resolution.
joint problem solving where both parties sit down and discuss the issue and present there side, then they discuss to negotiate a resolution
arbitration
is a method of dispute resolution in which an independent person (an arbitrator) is appointed to listen to both sides of a dispute and make a decision that is legally binding on the parties.
more formal then conciliation and mediation, more expensive
conciliation
Conciliation is a method of dispute resolution that uses an independent third party (i.e. a conciliator) to help the disputing parties reach a resolution.
similar to mediation, however the conciliator is usually someone with specialised knowledge therefor they have more influence over the outcome
tribunals
Tribunals are dispute resolution bodies that obtain their power to resolve certain types of disputes from parliament.
Tribunals provide individuals with a low-cost, efficient and speedy method of dispute resolution. Therefore, tribunals increase the community’s access to justice.
tribunals VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal)
VCAT deals with a large number, and a large variety, of civil disputes.
5 elements - administrative division, civil division, human rights division, planning and environment division and residential division
VCAT is one of Australia’s busiest tribunals, receiving over 85 000 claims per year
VCAT’s purpose is to provide Victorians with a low-cost, accessible, efficient and independent tribunal that delivers high-quality dispute resolution.
Complaints bodies
Complaints bodies assist parties to a civil dispute by investigating and or attempting to resolve their dispute through conciliation
they cannot make a banding decision on the parties
complaints bodies examples
inspector general of taxation and health complaints commissioner
Determining liability
The judge or magistrate (or jury) will consider the evidence presented and decide whether the plaintiff, on the balance of probabilities, has established that the defendant caused the loss suffered by the plaintiff.
Deciding on a remedy
If liability is established, the role of the court is to decide on the remedy (a way in which a court can right the wrong that has occurred to the party who has suffered loss).