L:P1 - The Legal System

• Law


  A set of rules imposed on all members of a community which are officially recognised, binding and enforceable by persons or organisations such as the police and/or courts
• Values


  Principles, standards, or qualities considered worthwhile or desirable within a society
• Rules


  Written standards of behaviour established by an authority, formally or informally enforced upon specific groups in society
• Customs


  Collective habits or traditions that have developed in a society over a long period of time
• Customary law


  Principles and procedures that have developed according to the customs of a people or nation, or groups of nations, and are treated as obligatory
• Nation-state


  A politically independent country
• Ethics


  Rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession, eg. not littering
• Justice


  The legal principle of upholding generally accepted rights and enforcing responsibilities, ensuring fair and impartial treatment for all people under the law and achieving equal outcomes for those involved
• Legal System


  The system of courts, prosecutors and police in a country
• Equality


  The state or quality of being equal, that is, of having the same rights or status
• Fairness


  Free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice; a concept commonly related to everyday activities
• Doli incapax


  A Latin term meaning "incapable of wrong"; the presumption that a child under 10 years of age cannot be held legally responsible for his or her actions and cannot be guilty of a criminal or civil offence
• Access


  The right or opportunity to make use of something
• Rule of law


  The principle that no one is above the law; the most important application of the rule of law is that governmental authority is exercised in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws that are adopted and enforced in accordance with established procedural steps (due process)
• Sanction


  A penalty or punishment imposed for breaking the law
• Anarchy


  The absence of laws and government
• Tyranny


  Rule by a single leader holding absolute power in a nation-state
• Statue law


  Law made by parliament
• Jurisdiction


  The powers of a court, depending on its geographic area, the type of matters that can be decided, and the type of remedies that can be sought
• Defamation


  The act of making statements or suggestions that harm someone's reputation in the community
• Appeal


  An application to have a higher court reconsider a lower court's decision, on the basis of an error of law
• Summary offences


  Criminal offences that can be dealt with by a single judge without a jury and do not require a preliminary hearing
• Indictable offences


  Serious criminal offences that require an indictment (a formal, written charge) and a preliminary hearing; they are typically tried before a judge and jury and are subject to a greater penalty
• Coronial inquests


  Investigations into deaths that have occurred in unusual circumstances, held in the Coroner's Court and overseen by a magistrate called the Coroner
• Appellate jurisdiction


  The ability or power of a court to hear appeals of the decision of lower courts and to reject, affirm or modify those decisions
• Bicameral


  Containing two chambers or houses of parliament
• Bill


  A drafted law that has not yet been passed by parliament
• Delegated legislation


  Laws made by authorities other than parliament, who are delegated the power to do this by an act of parliament
• Act of parliament


  Statue law, resulting from a bill successfully passing through parliament and gaining Royal assent
• Federation


  The process of uniting several states to form a single national government
• Referendum


  The referral of a particular issue to the electorate for a vote
• Legislative powers


  The legals power or capacity to make laws
• Concurrent powers


  Existing at the same power; powers held by both state and federal parliaments
• Exclusive powers


  Powers that can be exercised only by the federal parliament
• Residual powers


  Those remaining matters on which the states can legislate, which are no referred to in the Constitution
• Original jurisdiction


  The ability or power of a court to hear a case in the first instance
• Prohibition


  A court order that forbids a lower level court from hearing or taking further action in a case or matter
• Injunction


  A court order stopping an individual or organisation from performing a particular action
• R


  'R' at the beginning of a case name refers to Regina (Latin for 'Queen'). Since Australia is a constitutional monarchy this refers to our head of state on whose behalf the prosecution case is run. When the head of state is a male, as was the case in 1935, the 'R' stands for Rex, which is Latin for 'King'.
• Terra nullis


  (Latin) "Land belonging to no-one"; the idea that when the first Europeans came to Australia the land was owned by no-one and thus was open to settlement. It has been judged legally invalid.