U3 AOS 2: Key concepts

Question 1

Parties in a civil case

Answer 1

Plaintiff: Person initiating the civil action
Defendant: The party who is alleged to have infringed the rights or caused wrongdoing

Question 2

Fairness in Civil cases

Answer 2

• Availability of legal rep
• Whether parties can understand legal proceedings, terminology and assistance
• Whether all parties are treated without bias

Question 3

Equality in Civil cases

Answer 3

• Impartiality of the judge
• Extent the civil justice system is available to all
• Extent availability and skill of legal rep impacts people

Question 4

Access in Civil cases

Answer 4

• Availability of range of methods and bodies that can be used to resolve civil disputes
• The costs of delays associated with having disputes resolved
• The availability of legal rep and assistance to parties

Question 5

Purpose of civil law

Answer 5

A civil case aims to restore the injured party to their original position before the wrongdoing occurred by providing a remedy to the dispute.

Question 6

Representative proceedings

Answer 6

A proceeding in the name of one person, on behalf of a group. If the group all have the same claims against the same party, they may be able to join together to commence a civil action (class action) the main type of RP

Question 7

Benefits of Representative proceedings

Answer 7

• Group members can share cost
• More efficient way of the court dealing with a number of claims
• People can pursue civil actions that they might not be able to afford on their own

Question 8

Types of Representative proceedings

Answer 8

• Shareholder class actions
  Where shareholders of a company may make a claim about being misread about the state of the company affairs
• Product liability class actions
  Where consumers who have purchased goods or service have all suffered the same loss / damage
• Natural disaster class actions
  Where the group members have suffered loss or damage as a result of a natural disaster