UNIT 1 AOS 1 definitions of laws and legal system Flashcards
kwhat is the definition of law?
legal rules made by a legal authority that are enforced by the police and other agencies
definition of sanction?
a penalty (e.g. a fine or prison time) imposed by a court on a person guilty of a criminal offence
definition of the act of parliament (or statute)?
a law made by parliament; a bill passed through parliament and has royal assist
definition of non-legal rules?
rules made by private groups or individuals of a society such as parents, and schools, that are not reenforced by the courts.
definition of the Australian Constitution?
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.
define federation?
the union of sovereign states that gave up their powers to a central authority to Australia
government
the party who wins the most (majority) seats in the lower house on election day
opposition
the party who win the next
social cohesion
Social cohesion is a community which upholds and shares one another values productively, in order to survive and proper.
rule of law
laws apply to all equally
fairness
all people can participate in the justice system and its process should be impartial and open
equality
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
access
all people should be able to engage with the justice system and its processes in an informed basis
bias
inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair.
apprehended bias
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.
sue
to seek justice or right from (a person) by legal process.
statue law
Statute Law is the law made by Parliament. It is introduced in a Bill and, if passed, becomes an Act.
bicameral parliament
2 houses/chambers such as upper and lower house of parliament
government general
represents the King of England when passing bill and more
house of representatives
has a member of parliament for each electorate representing the opinions of the public
(lower house 151 mp)
senate
represents the interests of the states and territories, reviews bills, introduces and passes bills
(upper house 76 mp)
election
a formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position.
government
the party who ‘wins’ the most (majority) sits in the lower house in election day
political party
Political parties aim to have members elected to the Australian Parliament so they can share their views and contribute to decisions made in Parliament.
coalition
a temporary alliance for combined action, especially of political parties forming a government.
governor
an official appointed to governor a town or region
legislative assembly
part of victorian parliament. has 88 mp 1 from each electoral districts. represent the people, introduces and passes laws.
minister
members of a party elected by parliament
cabinate
senior members of parliament who are responsible for a particular area of government e.g education
court hierarchy
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.
jurisdiction
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
appeal
an application to a higher court by a party who believes that a decision of a lower court was incorrect.
codify
to collect all law on one topic together into a single statute
abrogate
to abolish, cancel a court made law by passing an act of parliament
legislative council
established by state governments to look after the particular needs of a city or local community. has 40 mp, 5 from each region
act of parliament
law made by parliament (statute)
jurisdiction
the right of power to hear or deal with particular cases
criminal law
crime
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
sanction
form of punishment where a person found guilty of a crime, a sanction (penalty e.g fine or prison time) may be imposed
director of public prosecution
the party brining on the case on behalf of the state or the crown
civil law
regulates private disputes when someone believes their rights have been infringed.
tort
civil law of a wrongful act or infringement of rights - negligence, deformation, trespass and nuisance contract law
plaintiff
party who makes/brings a claim
defendant
who the plaintiff alleges has infringed the plaintiffs rights
remedy
the means by which a person who has been wronged can seek justice and be compensated for the harm they have suffered.
damages
a civil remedy in the for a sum of money that has been awarded to the person who has suffered harm
civil law
regulates disputes between individuals and groups
supremacy of parliament
Parliament’s law-making power takes precedence over that of the Judiciary; statute laws made by Parliament override judge-made law—common law.
royal assist
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.
private members bill
a legislative bill that is introduced by a private Member of Parliament and is not part of a government’s planned legislation.
common law
a “body of law” based on court decisions rather than codes or statutes.
statutory interpretation
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.
precedent
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
ratio decidendi
reason for the precedent
stare decisis
“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.
binding precendent
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.
persuasive precendent
persuasive precedent does not have to be followed, but is considered by the court in making its decision and may be followed.
obiter dictum
legal principles or remarks made by judges that do not affect the outcome of the case
reversing precedent
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.
overrulling precedent
higher court in a different case overrules an existing precedent, causing the existing precedent to no longer apply
disapproving a precedent
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.
distinguishing a previous precedent
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.
main role of the courts
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.
