UNIT 1 AOS 1 definitions of laws and legal system

Question 1

kwhat is the definition of law?

Answer 1

legal rules made by a legal authority that are enforced by the police and other agencies

Question 2

definition of sanction?

Answer 2

a penalty (e.g. a fine or prison time) imposed by a court on a person guilty of a criminal offence

Question 3

definition of the act of parliament (or statute)?

Answer 3

a law made by parliament; a bill passed through parliament and has royal assist

Question 4

definition of non-legal rules?

Answer 4

rules made by private groups or individuals of a society such as parents, and schools, that are not reenforced by the courts.

Question 5

definition of the Australian Constitution?

Answer 5

a set of rules or principles that guide the way Australia is governed.The Australian constitution is set out in the commonwealth of Australia constitution act.

Question 6

define federation?

Answer 6

the union of sovereign states that gave up their powers to a central authority to Australia

Question 7

government

Answer 7

the party who wins the most (majority) seats in the lower house on election day

Question 8

opposition

Answer 8

the party who win the next

Question 9

social cohesion

Answer 9

Social cohesion is a community which upholds and shares one another values productively, in order to survive and proper.

Question 10

rule of law

Answer 10

laws apply to all equally

Question 11

fairness

Answer 11

all people can participate in the justice system and its process should be impartial and open

Question 12

equality

Answer 12

all people engaging in the justice system and its processes should be treated in the same way; if the same treatment creates disparity or disadvantage, adequate measures should be implemented to allow all to engage with the justice system without disparity or disadvantage

Question 13

access

Answer 13

all people should be able to engage with the justice system and its processes in an informed basis

Question 14

bias

Answer 14

inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair.

Question 15

apprehended bias

Answer 15

Apprehended bias refers to the perception or recognition of bias within oneself or others. It involves being aware of the potential for bias to influence judgments, decisions, or actions.

Question 16

sue

Answer 16

to seek justice or right from (a person) by legal process.

Question 17

statue law

Answer 17

Statute Law is the law made by Parliament. It is introduced in a Bill and, if passed, becomes an Act.

Question 18

bicameral parliament

Answer 18

2 houses/chambers such as upper and lower house of parliament

Question 19

government general

Answer 19

represents the King of England when passing bill and more

Question 20

house of representatives

Answer 20

has a member of parliament for each electorate representing the opinions of the public
(lower house 151 mp)

Question 21

senate

Answer 21

represents the interests of the states and territories, reviews bills, introduces and passes bills
(upper house 76 mp)

Question 22

election

Answer 22

a formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position.

Question 23

government

Answer 23

the party who ‘wins’ the most (majority) sits in the lower house in election day

Question 24

political party

Answer 24

Political parties aim to have members elected to the Australian Parliament so they can share their views and contribute to decisions made in Parliament.

Question 25

coalition

Answer 25

a temporary alliance for combined action, especially of political parties forming a government.

Question 26

governor

Answer 26

an official appointed to governor a town or region

Question 27

legislative assembly

Answer 27

part of victorian parliament. has 88 mp 1 from each electoral districts. represent the people, introduces and passes laws.

Question 28

minister

Answer 28

members of a party elected by parliament

Question 29

cabinate

Answer 29

senior members of parliament who are responsible for a particular area of government e.g education

Question 30

court hierarchy

Answer 30

This sets out the seniority of each court in terms of the seriousness of the cases that it can hear and whether its decisions can be reviewed by other judges.

Question 31

jurisdiction

Answer 31

Jurisdiction exercised by Australian courts is either federal jurisdiction or state or territory jurisdiction. relates to where a offical power to make legal decisions extents too

Question 32

appeal

Answer 32

an application to a higher court by a party who believes that a decision of a lower court was incorrect.

Question 33

codify

Answer 33

to collect all law on one topic together into a single statute

Question 34

abrogate

Answer 34

to abolish, cancel a court made law by passing an act of parliament

Question 35

legislative council

Answer 35

established by state governments to look after the particular needs of a city or local community. has 40 mp, 5 from each region

Question 36

act of parliament

Answer 36

law made by parliament (statute)

Question 37

jurisdiction

Answer 37

the right of power to hear or deal with particular cases

Question 38

criminal law

Question 39

crime

Answer 39

an act or omission (failure to act) that breaks an existing law, harmful to an individual of society as a whole an punished by law

Question 40

sanction

Answer 40

form of punishment where a person found guilty of a crime, a sanction (penalty e.g fine or prison time) may be imposed

Question 41

director of public prosecution

Answer 41

the party brining on the case on behalf of the state or the crown

Question 42

civil law

Answer 42

regulates private disputes when someone believes their rights have been infringed.

Question 43

tort

Answer 43

civil law of a wrongful act or infringement of rights - negligence, deformation, trespass and nuisance contract law

Question 44

plaintiff

Answer 44

party who makes/brings a claim

Question 45

defendant

Answer 45

who the plaintiff alleges has infringed the plaintiffs rights

Question 46

remedy

Answer 46

the means by which a person who has been wronged can seek justice and be compensated for the harm they have suffered.

Question 47

damages

Answer 47

a civil remedy in the for a sum of money that has been awarded to the person who has suffered harm

Question 48

civil law

Answer 48

regulates disputes between individuals and groups

Question 49

supremacy of parliament

Answer 49

Parliament’s law-making power takes precedence over that of the Judiciary; statute laws made by Parliament override judge-made law—common law.

Question 50

royal assist

Answer 50

final step required for a parliamentary bill to become law. Once a bill is presented to the Sovereign, he or she has the following formal options: grant royal assent, thereby making the bill an Act of Parliament.

Question 51

private members bill

Answer 51

a legislative bill that is introduced by a private Member of Parliament and is not part of a government’s planned legislation.

Question 52

common law

Answer 52

a “body of law” based on court decisions rather than codes or statutes.

Question 53

statutory interpretation

Answer 53

The process by which a judge decides what the words in a statute mean, in order to apply them to the facts in the case at hand and reach a decision.

Question 54

precedent

Answer 54

a legal principle that has been established by a superior court should be followed in other similar cases by that court and lower courts of the same court hierarchy

Question 55

ratio decidendi

Answer 55

reason for the precedent

Question 56

stare decisis

Answer 56

“to stand by things decided” in Latin. When a court faces a legal argument, if a previous court has ruled on the same or a closely related issue, then the court will make their decision in alignment with the previous court’s decision.

Question 57

binding precendent

Answer 57

A precedent is ‘binding’ on a court if the precedent was made by a superior court that is higher in the hierarchy of courts. A binding precedent must be followed if the precedent is relevant and the circumstances of the cases are sufficiently similar.

Question 58

persuasive precendent

Answer 58

persuasive precedent does not have to be followed, but is considered by the court in making its decision and may be followed.

Question 59

obiter dictum

Answer 59

legal principles or remarks made by judges that do not affect the outcome of the case

Question 60

reversing precedent

Answer 60

when the same case is taken to a higher court on an appeal and the decision is changed where a precedent is reversed it no longer applies.

Question 61

overrulling precedent

Answer 61

higher court in a different case overrules an existing precedent, causing the existing precedent to no longer apply

Question 62

disapproving a precedent

Answer 62

if a court is bound to a precedent, it may express its disapproval or disagreemnet with the precedent. Does not change the present, but may influence a higher court to do so.

Question 63

distinguishing a previous precedent

Answer 63

if the materials of a case are sufficiently different from the material facts in the binding precedent, a lower court may not have to follow the precedent.

Question 64

main role of the courts

Answer 64

is it apply existing laws to the facts of the case in front of them. Secondary is to make laws as part of their determination of cases. A court made law is common law.