legal studies

• Statutory law is created by legislative bodies, such as Congress or Parliament, and is written down in codes or statutes.
• rules; way of behaving that is agreed to by people taking part in an activity or belonging to a group.
• laws; binding rules put in place by Parliament. penalties are able to be enforced for failure/refusal to obey them.
• Seperation of Powers Doctrine; requires that all three arms be seperated to ensure that no body or person has complete control. consists of executive, judicary and legislative.
• local government; make local laws for their region or district.
• Federal government; makes laws for the whole of Australia
• state government; makes laws for each state
• Statue Law; laws made by parliament. introduced with a bill, and if passed, it becomes an Act
• Characteristics of effective Law; law must be known and understood, stable and consistent, and enforcable
• onus or burden of proof; the responsibilty of proving a disputed charge or allegation, lies with the person making the allegation.
• standard of proof; in criminal cases, the court is not to find the defendant guilty unless it is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt
• adversial system; a system of law in which each side presents evidence in order to prove their case and the judge decides which side is correct
• inqusitorial system; a method of legal practice where the judge endeavours to discover facts while simultaneously representing the interests of the state in a trial.
• regulatory offence; act that is prohibited by legislation and carries a fine as its maximum penalty.
• summary offence; simple or less serious offence, heard by a magistrate
• indictable offence; more serious crime that requires a comittal hearing and trial
• evidence; facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid
• rule of law; the principle that all people are subject to the law and equal before the law
• civil law; a body of rules(torts) that delineate private rights and remedies, and govern disputes between individuals in such areas as contracts, property and family law
• criminal law; body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and welfare of people inclusive of one's self
• actus reus(criminal act); the physical performance of a crime(guilty act)
• mens rea(criminal intent); a persons mental state and awareness of the fact that their conduct is criminal
• beyond reasonable doubt; there is no other alternative that the accused comitted the offence of which they are charged
• concurrent powers; powers under the constitution that may be exercised by both the federal and state governments
• executive government;power to put laws into action
• exclusive powers; given to the federal government by the constitution
• types of offences; against the person. these affect a persons physical and/or emotional health. includes homicide, assult, robbery.
• types of offences; against property. offences that include the removal or destruction of another persons property. includes theft, arson, fraud
• types of offences; public order offence. includes tresspassing, public drunkness, false advertising
• Circumstantial evidence is indirect evidence that does not, on its face, prove a fact in issue but gives rise to a logical inference that the fact exists. 
• Direct evidence is evidence of a fact based on a witness's personal knowledge of that fact acquired by means of the witness's senses.
• customary law; the practices and systems among Aboriginal people that have been developed over time, regularing behaviour and connecting people with each other and the land through a system of relationships
• jurisdiction; the power or authority of a court to hear and try a case, including the geographic area in which a court has power or the type of cases it has the power to hear
• Criminal jurisdiction; the power of courts to hear a case brought by a state accusing a defendant of the commission of a crime.
• civil jurisdiction; hear matters involving claims in negligence, debt, and other contractual disputes