Thema 2: Courts and Case Law

Question 1

There are two components to a Common Law system:

Answer 1

Case Law (judge-made law)
Statute (Parliament legislation)

Question 2

The State court structure hierarchy is

Answer 2

Magistrates Court, District Court of WA, Supreme Court of WA, Court of Appeal, High Court of Australia

Question 3

Court jurisdiction has two major limits

Answer 3

1. The nature of the case

2. The amount of money involved

Question 4

Precedent means:

Answer 4

a court must follow the same decision as a Court higher in the hierarchy, where the material facts of both cases are similar.

Question 5

The lower court must follow a previous court’s decision if: (4)

Answer 5

1. The decision was made in a HIGHER court
2. The deciding court is in the SAME hierarchy
3. The same MATERIAL facts are present
4. The lower court HAS NO CHOICE

Question 6

A judgement contains two important legal priciples:

Answer 6

“Ratio decidendi” - the reason for decision

“Obiter dicta” - “sayings by the way”, other statements made in a judgement which are not relevant to the decision.