Statute Law and the Constitution Flashcards
parliament
a body of elective representatives that debates proposed legislation, passes, amends or rejects legislation and delegates legislative authority to other bodies
two houses of parliament (bicameral)
- the Lower House initiates most laws
- the Upper House reviews laws
the government
formed by the political party or parties which have the majority of seats in the Lower House
the opposition
formed by the political party or parties which have remaining seats in the Lower House
the queen
laws must be assented by the Queen. This is done through her representative in each parliament, the Governor or Governor-General
ministers
members of the government who are given responsibility for particular government departments
the cabinet
formed by some or all of the ministers. The cabinet decides policy, what types of laws are going to be drafted for consideration by parliament
the shadow ministry
members of the opposition who monitor the policies and proceedings of the ministers
house of representatives
- lower house
- 150 seats, 150 electorates
- one member is elected from each electorate
- electorates are divided up by population density
senate
- upper house
- 76 senators in the senate
- 12 senators are elected from each state
- 2 senators are elected from each territory
legislative process order
- initiation
- first reading
- second reading
- third reading
- the upper house
- assent
delegate
give someone else a task while retaining overall responsibility for the task oneself
delegated legislation
the law made by lower authorities who are given power by parliaments. Also known as subordinate legislation
delegated legislation function
allows laws to be made by bodies with the necessary time and expertise, while parliament retains ultimate responsibility
constitution
a set of rules that may apply to a social club, organisation or nation
australian commonwealth constitution
- legal framework and rules that apply to the governance of Australia
- Australia was 6 independent colonies answerable to the British government
division of powers
dividing power between the State and the Federal parliaments
residual powers
→ powers outlined in the constitutions of the various states
→ provide state parliaments with the powers to make laws on any matter that affects the state
exclusive powers
powers that are only granted to the Federal Parliament
concurrent powers
→ powers that are shared between the Federal and state governments
→ Federal overrides the state
separation of powers
power is distributed between the three arms of government, ensuring that no one group can dominate
parliament/legislative
makes and amends the laws
executive
puts the laws into action
judiciary
make judgments about the law
how a constitution can change
- bill is put in a referendum after passed by both houses of parliament
- change is approved by referendum by the majority of people in a majority of states PLUS an overall majority
3 arms of the High Court
- To protect the Constitution by ensuring the governments act within their constitutional powers
- To exercise original jurisdiction over constitutional matters
- To act as the final court of appeal within the Australian legal system
constitutional interpretation
→ must interpret the words of the Constitution when resolving disputes
→ In High Court cases, words in the Constitution have been interpreted to include modern-day things that did not exist when the Constitution was written
