legal

• What is the reason for law?

  Rules exist to create and maintain stability and a sense of order to prevent anarchy. Laws are formal rules that govern how we behave/function.
• 4 main roles of law


  • Establish boundaries – determine the acceptable limits of behaviour
  • Protection – regulate society's behaviour and protect us from the actions of others
  • Freedom – lists what society can do without harming others
  • Resolving disputes – provides a formal method to solve conflict, and prevents people from taking the law into their own hands
• Laws


  Formal rules that govern how we behave/function
• It is exceedingly difficult to create a set of laws that reflect every individual's values; and is also the reason for differing laws in each country
• Australia's court system

  • Works in a hierarchy system
  • Relate to the seriousness of the offence
  • Each has their own jurisdiction over certain legal matters
• Types of courts in the hierarchy

  • Children's Court
  • Coroner's Court
  • Drug Court of NSW
  • Local Court
  • District Court
  • Supreme Court
  • Family Court
  • High Court
• Adversarial system


  Method of trial conducted when an offender pleads not guilty
• Roles of court personnel


  • Judge's associate = paperwork
  • Members of the public = listen and observe
  • Media members = report events
  • Sheriff's officers = security
  • Accused
  • Jury (12 jurors) = help decide on outcome
  • Prison officer = from prison where accused is held
  • Defendant = represent accused
  • Prosecutor = act on behalf of plaintiff to convince guilty
  • Witness box = evidence
  • Tipstaff = keep order in court
  • Judge (umpire) = decide sentence/punishment
• Role and selection of juries


  • Made up of ordinary citizens from the public
  • To be independent and decide on facts of a case
  • Must be able to: listen/understand/remember facts, decide what they believe actually happened, no prejudice/bias / be fair and impartial, understand laws explained by judge, deliver a verdict
• How laws are made - common law


  1. Gradually developed from new or recent problems

  2. Decisions made by judges

  3. No regulation of an existing law

  4. Establish legal precedent

  5. Written in 'Law Reports'

  6. Courts also make laws for statutory interpretation
• How laws are made - statute law


  1. Laws proposed/made by Parliament

  2. Delegate between federal, state, and local

  3. Succeed over common law

  4. Only High Court has power to change it

  5. Binding on all courts and judges

  6. Commonwealth laws > state laws
• How a bill becomes a law

  1. Proposed new law or amendment discussed in Cabinet

  2. Government lawyers draft a bill (first draft)

  3. Copies of the bill given to all members of the lower house to read (first reading)

  4. "Second Reading" – responsible minister describes main purpose and benefits, speakers from government and opposition provide opinions (debate), ministers then vote for majority to pass onto the next stage

  5. Parliamentary committees debate on the bill and present possible changes

  6. "Third Reading" – majority votes = passes on to the higher house

  7. Higher house repeats similar processes, if changes are made it must be referred back to the lower house

  8. If agreed, sent to the Governor-General for royal assent

  9. Bill becomes an Act of Parliament and is legally binding
• Types of private law


  • Tort – situations where one person infringes the rights of another and results in distress or injury
  • Contract – legal agreements between two or more people
  • Family – family relationships, rules about the process of getting married, de-facto relationships, divorce and custody
  • Property – provides regulations about the sale, leasing and hiring of property (land/buildings and goods/services)
• Types of public law


  • Industrial – rights and obligations of employers' and employees
  • Constitutional – rules by which a country is governed
  • Administrative – decisions and powers of government departments
  • Criminal – provide orderly society and a way of dealing with crime
• Civil law


  Part of private law, deals with non-criminal matters, resolve disputes formally, plaintiff vs defendant, standard of proof = balance of probabilities
• Types of civil law

  • Tort = civil wrongdoing (negligence, defamation, nuisance, trespass)
  • Contract = breached contract, failure to conform to an agreement
• Criminal law

  Offender vs state, deals with unacceptable behaviour that society believes is deserving of punishment/prosecution, standard of proof = beyond reasonable doubt, age of criminal responsibility = 10
• Types of criminal offences

  • Summary = less severe, heard in local court (e.g. traffic violations, graffiti, minor assault and petty theft)
  • Indictable = serious and most severe, heard in district or supreme court (e.g. armed robbery, homicide, abuse, sexual assault)
• Degrees of criminal offence

  • 1st degree = primary/principal offender
  • 2nd degree = less severe involvement
  • 3rd degree = accessory before/after event
• Process of criminal law


  Offence -> investigation -> charge -> trial (cross-examine/challenge) -> sentence (bail)
• Customary law


  Laws that existed before colonisation, inspired by Aboriginal customs and traditions, account for their culture and differences, recognise kinship (belonging) and circle sentencing (relevant parties decide on sentence together)
• Customary law examples

  • Native Title Act – first legislation recognising customary law
  • Circle Sentencing - the Indigenous community is included in the decision of punishment/sentence
• Domestic law

  An individual country, dealt with by the country's legal system
• International law

  Nations' interactions and behaviours towards each other, formed from treaties and conventions between countries, dealt with by international courts (Criminal and Justice)
• United Nations – responsible for establishing and enforcing international laws to foster good relationships and avoid conflict
• Factors that may inhibit individual's from accessing the law


  • Cost – legal advice is expensive, legal aid is hard to obtain
  • Time – cases should be settled once all the evidence is assembled, 'justice delayed is justice denied'
  • Distance – range of places to access the law, time-consuming, costly, and difficult to arrange
  • Procedures – can be intimidating and confusing, unawareness of an individual's rights and responsibilities
  • Language – difficulty understanding legal terminology and procedures, especially for those whose first language is not English
• The three levels of government

  • Federal Parliament – upper house (Senate) and lower house (House of Representatives), head of government = Prime Minister, Cabinet makes key decisions, controls things which affect the whole nation, supports state governments, obtains income from taxation
  • State Government – upper house (Legislative Council) and lower house (Legislative Assembly), head of government = Premier, head of state = Governor, obtains income from federal grants + property and payroll taxes, controls things that affect individuals in that state
  • Local Government – around 550 LGA's/councils/shires, head of government = mayor, operate under state government legislation, responsible for needs of the community, obtain income from land rates
• Reasons why laws change (law reform)


  • Reaction to change in social values and settings, technology, and political circumstances
  • Doesn't reflect society's views at that point in time
  • Follows from new and upcoming developments that cause altercations in the population or environment
  • Citizens will pressure the government to amend an existing law or introduce a new law
  • A result of occurring events provoking action, to reduce existing conflicts
  • To establish precedent
  • The recognition of social issues
  • Changed for conciseness and clarity
  • Provide justice so that committers may be held accountable for their actions
• what is a jurisdiction?

  A jurisdiction is a specific area of control where legal decisions and judgements are made and applied.
• What does 'beyond reasonable doubt' mean?

  The highest legal burden/standard of proof that suggests that there is no reasonable possibility of the accused' innocence. The jury/judge must be certain that the accused is guilty.
• What does 'balance of probabilities' mean?

  The court considers that the evidence indicates that the event more likely occurred than it did not, indicating the occurrence of the event.
• What does 'access to the law' mean?


  Everyone has equal opportunity to make use of the law and legal system