Week 1 Australian Court System

Question 1

What type of law does Australia and other countries that follow England’s legal system called?

Answer 1

Common Law Countries

Question 2

What is the underlying idea behind doctrine and common law?

Answer 2

Like cases be treated as like.

This allows for consistency and certainly from the court of law. However, with the mass amount of cases there could be a long wait time or unflexible decision making process due to the limitations in the lower courts.

Question 3

What are the 4 Rules of Doctrine of Precedent?

Answer 3

1) Lower courts bound by decisions of higher ones.
2) Only the ratio of a case is binding.
3) A court is not bound to follow the decision of a court inferior to it.
4) A court is not bound to follow decisions of any countries in another system.

Question 4

What is the Ratio Decidendi?

Answer 4

• Ratio is the reason for deciding.
• Precedent which compels other courts to follow decisions of another. It is considered the pivotal step in reaching the conclusion.
• Only the ratio of a previous decision will be binding.

Question 5

What 2 streams of courts does Australia follow?

Answer 5

1) State/Territory Courts
2) Commonewealth Courts

Question 6

What are the 4 Courts within the State/Territory Courts?

Answer 6

1) Court of Appeals
2) Supreme
3) Intermediate (County/District Courts)
4) Lower Courts (Local/Magistrates Courts)

Question 7

What are the 3 Courts within the Commonwealth Courts?

Answer 7

1) Federal
2) Family
3) Federal Magistrates

Question 8

How many judges in a Supreme Court?

Answer 8

1

Question 9

How many judges in a Court of Appeal?

Answer 9

3