Commerce- Law and order

Rules can be non-strict, examples school rules and don’t attract serious penalties if broken and laws are strict and everyone has to obey them, they are enforce by police

If there were no laws, a state of anarchy would develop (anarchy means confusion and chaos due to no laws). When people obey the law a sense of order and peace is created in society

• To establish boundaries for intolerable actions
• Protect people by telling them what they cannot do i.e rob or drink drive
• Provide freedom e.g. allowed to marry or divorce
• Resolve disputes

Was passed on by ‘word of mouth’ (oral law)Based on customs and rituals.Had complex set of laws that outline the correct way of living

When a law was broken, the accused would meet in public with the victim. Members of the tribe would witness the meeting. Once a penalty was decided, the tribe would carry out the punishment. Punishments ranged from being banished from the tribe to death.

Based on kinship- rules that outline the correct way of living i.e sharing of food, marriage, education and trade

First fleet brought the legal system with themselves. Arthur Phillip, the governor had ultimate authority and was the administrator of justice. NSW then adopted all the English law that was in existence at that time. From 1828 onwards, however, the colony had the power to make its own laws.

Consists of a number of intuitions; governments, courts and prisons

Judges, lawyers, police officers, prison officers and politicians.

Lawyers (solicitors and barristers) are legal advisors. They represent their clients and conduct their cases in court. They argue cases for their clients

They make laws or change existing ones. These laws are binding to all courts and judges and they can be pressured into making/changing laws

Harshest form of punishment since it is loss of freedom. It is managed by prison staff

Yes, all offenders must be given this chance.

Interpret laws and settle disputes. Court officials administer the court

Enforce laws. They prevent and investigate crime and maintain peace as well as assist in prosecutions. They must abide by rules relating to their power

Higher courts hear serious matters so they are placed at the top. Lower courts hear less serious matters so they are placed at the bottom

In criminal cases, the higher courts deal with the most serious crimes

In civil cases, the higher courts hear cases that will affect many people or involve large sums of money.

They can appeal to higher courts to deal with their cases however the price goes higher.

• Local court- no jury
• District court (federal and family courts)
• Supreme court
• High Court of Australia- no jury

It is at the bottom of hierarchy.Nearly all criminal and civil cases begin here.Deals with claims up to $100,000

There is no jury but there is a magistrate who hears cases and decides on punishment. Magistrate can only imprison for 2 years

Hears minor criminal offences such as stealing or drink driving, hear bail applications and issue arrest or search warrants. They also hear applications for Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs). Includes Children’s Court and the Coroner’s Court.

They go over indictable offences (major criminal matters) to decide if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial in a higher court.

It deals with the care and protection of young people. It also deals with criminal offences of people under the age of 18 and is closed to public. Police don’t wear uniform so that they don’t threaten the children

It investigates deaths by unnatural causes in order to determine the identity of the deceased and what happened. They also investigate the cause and origin of fires or explosions

it is the middle court in hierarchy. Heard by judges. Deals with claims over $100,000 up to $750,000. Deals with serious criminal offences such as armed robbery and burglary. Can not hear offences that carry long sentences

• It is the highest in NSW. It deals with very serious cases such as murder or sexual assault and claims more than $750,000 are heard here
• It is headed by the Chief Justice. The judgements on Supreme court are compulsory on lower courts and they can impose wide range of sentences

It hears cases regarding the interpretation of the Australian Constitution and has seven judges. It reads, interprets and applies the Constitution and creates laws that then affect the powers of parliaments. Decisions are final and applies to the whole country.

The adversarial system. This means two opposing sides will present their arguments to an independent umpire — a judge or a magistrate

A magistrate is in charge of the lowest court, which is mostly informal. They are addressed as ‘Your Honour’ They decide is a person is innocent or guilty, and if they are guilty the magistrate decides on the charges.

The are the accused who are represented by the Counsel for the defense. If they plead guilty, the counsel tries to plea for a lesser punishment. If they plead not guilty the counsel has to prove their innocence

• Jurors are people who determine whether the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
• In criminal cases there are 12 jurors
• In civil cases there are 6 jurors, they decide one a balance of probabilities, whether the accused is liable or not

They are addressed as ‘Your Honour’. They aren't allowed to ask witness questions. If a jury decides a guilty verdict they decided the punishment. They ensure jury understands proceedings and evidence.

Tipstaff keep order in court and witness box is where people give evidence

• They convince the jury that a person is guilty by asking questions to the witnesses to draw out information
• In civil cases, a barrister will act on behalf of the plaintiff. Their role is to present reasons why their client should receive compensation.

The party who initiates a court action, whether a lawsuit in civil court, or charges in criminal court, in order to seek a legal remedy

The process of selecting a jury

• Potential jurors must walk past the accused and his or her counsel, as well as the prosecution
• This is so counsel can look at them and decide whether they are the type of people they want on the jury.

It deals with how individuals interact with each other, the rights and duties people have towards each other. It includes tort law, contract law, property law and family law

Regulates people’s behaviour within society as a whole and protects the freedom of individuals. It includes criminal law, administrative law, constitutional law and industrial law

This law regulates family relationships. It sets out rules about the process of getting married; who can get married; de facto relationships; divorce; custody and other aspects involving family members.

Deals with situations when one person infringes the rights of another, resulting in distress or injury. The person injured may claim financial compensation from the other party for any loss suffered.

It is the legal agreements between two or more people. If one party fails to carry out his or her side of the agreement, that person can be sued for breach of contract.

It is about two broad types of property: real property (land and buildings) and personal property (goods and services we purchase)

Deals with the set of rules by which a country is governed. It is concerned with the powers and authority of parliament and the rights of each citizen, and the powers between the federal and the state governments.

Deals with the decisions and powers of these government departments. It allows courts to review and change the decisions of government if necessary

Criminal laws are needed to keep the community safe from harm. Offenders are punished if they choose to put people and property at risk.

Concerned with the rights and obligations of employers and employees. Much of the law deals with the legal way of resolving industrial disputes, workers’ compensation, occupational health and safety, and discrimination in the workforce.

It allows an individual to bring actions against other members of the public for a civil wrong done to them, therefore it plays an important role in the creation and protection of our individual rights.

Civil law gives the plaintiff the ability to sue the defendant. Compensation can be given to pay for damages .Sometimes the judge decides that the plaintiff is in the wrong and can order him or her to pay the defendant’s costs. It might be determined that the plaintiff was held partly responsible, thus damages are reduced accordingly

• negligence — where a person fails to take reasonable care and, as a result, injures another person
• defamation — where a person injures another person’s reputation
• nuisance — where a person causes unreasonable interference with another person’s right to quiet enjoyment of their property
• trespass — where a person interferes with another person, or that person’s property rights.

At the age of ten because they are able to distinguish what is wrong and what is right.

Serious offences (indictable offences)  are heard in the District and Supreme Courts. Some offences include: Rape, armed robbery, child abuse,and sexual assualt

Summary offences are dealt with in the Local Court. They include petty theft, vandalism and traffic infringements

Laws that are written down beforehand are called statute law, or Acts of Parliament.

They can be developed piece by piece by judges as they come across new problems in the cases they hear.

The justice system in England and Australia is based on common law. When Henry II became King of England in 1154, in medieval times, he decided his people should all have the opportunity for royal justice. The king’s court began travelling around, hearing cases. Judges started keeping records of their decisions, referring back to them when hearing similar cases.

It is the decisions given by judges. It occurs when a judge has to decide on a case where there is no existing law that regulates it. So then the judge can make a decision  which are recorded and placed in the book of Law Reports. These decisions are known as legal precedents.

Precedent helps the legal system achieve fairness and justice as similar cases are dealt with in the same way. This is when a judge deals with a certain issue that has no ruling based on past decisions to similar issues to be fair

Courts also make laws when they interpret words in a law made by Parliament because they use complicated language. Although only Parliament can change the wording of a law, when a court interprets a word, this new meaning applies as law from then on. The principle of precedent applies to interpretation as well. Therefore, once a judge decides on the meaning of a word or phrase, that meaning becomes law

• In 1215, King John was forced by his barons to sign a document called the Magna Carta.
• He promised to call up all his lords by name (to discuss important matters) and to have ordinary people elected to similar meetings in certain communities.
• These meetings of lords and commoners were first referred to as ‘parliaments’ in 1236 They were usually held to discuss the king’s need for extra taxes. At this stage, the king still always had the final say.
• By 1265, the Great Council was enlarged to include two community representatives from every city and county in England.
• By around 1350, parliaments were divided into two groups.
• In 1407, Henry IV decided that the community members (House of Commons) had to approve requests for grants of money before these requests were considered by the lords (House of Lords).
• By the fifteenth century, formal requests of the House of Commons, known as bills, were part of the law-making process

• In Australia, the laws created by parliament have the highest status and must be obeyed by all people
• Once each law has been passed, it is binding on all courts and judges
• Statute law will always succeed over common law and no court has the power to change it.

The High Court, if it is an unconstitutional law

Each parliament has a constitution, a document that outlines the powers of the parliament and any restrictions to its law-making authority

• The Australian Constitution limits the powers of the Federal Parliament
• The state governments retain the power to make laws unless the Constitution hands this power to the Australian government

Federal and state parliament

Before any proposed laws can become Acts of Parliament, they have to be debated and passed by parliament, and then approved by the Executive Council, the head of state and selected government ministers

A proposed new law, or changed law, is discussed in Cabinet. A decision is then made on what to do.

If the government decides to proceed, government lawyers are asked to draft a bill, which is a ‘first draft’ of an Act of Parliament

Copies of the bill are given to all members of the House of Representatives which they read in their own time. Known as the ‘first reading’

The bill goes through a ‘second reading’. During this stage, the responsible minister for the bill describes the main purpose and likely benefits of the bill. People get to say what they think about it. There is then a vote, and if majority is in favour of it, it moves onto the next stage

The bill is debated again bit by bit. This stage is known as the committee stage, as the debate occurs in parliamentary committees. Changes to the bill may be made

The bill, including any changes made during step 5, goes through a ‘third reading’ in the house. A vote is taken. If the majority vote for it, the bill is passed through to the Senate

Similar processes to those outlined in steps 3 to 6 occur in the Senate. If the Senate decides to change something, the bill is referred back to the House of Representatives for another debate and vote. Sometimes the Senate may refuse to approve a bill. If the Senate votes to approve the bill, it is sent to the Governor-General for royal assent

The Governor General meets with a select number of government ministers in a meeting of the Executive Council. If he or she approves and signs the bill, it becomes an Act of Parliament and becomes legally binding for all Australians

New laws develop and old ones are scrapped due to changes in social values, technology and political circumstances

Changing political circumstances can bring about radical changes to the law. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States of America on 11 September 2001 sparked major changes to Australia’s security laws

Access means equal opportunity for all people to make use of the legal system

If they are unable to access the law

Legal advice can be very expensive. Fees charged by lawyers and barristers are very high. If a legal case is prolonged or is subject to appeal, the legal costs can very quickly mount up

• If a trial drags on for a long period then people are not treated fairly
• Some delays are inevitable, particularly in terms of police investigation of crime scenes and the gathering of forensic material, cases should be settled promptly once all the evidence is assembled

• Some people may not even be aware of their rights or responsibilities according to the law
• Access may be restricted because of your ignorance of the law. The procedures can be intimidating and confusing
• People can also be denied access to the law because they perceive that the legal system is insensitive to their needs

• Even finding help from a lawyer or the translation of legal documents may pose a problem
• Not being able to communicate your needs can limit your access to the law

The word ‘justice’ means fairness and it also involves a sense of equality for all.

• The symbols are:
• 1. The scales = weighing up both sides of the argument equally
• 2. The sword = punishment to be imposed on any guilty party
• 3. The blindfold, which demonstrates that justice is impartial — it is not influenced by wealth, race, religion, gender or status — and that all people will be treated as equal

• 1. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)- Resolve their civil disputes without going to court
• 2. Community Justice Centres (CJCs) - Civil disputes can be quickly and inexpensively resolved with the help of a free CJC mediator who is trained to help people in dispute find a solution
• 3. Legal Aid - provides legal advice and representation to people on low incomes or with few assets, who would not otherwise be able to afford court proceedings
• 4. eLaw websites - provide information and online access to the law
• 5. Pro bono work - Most lawyers perform a significant amount of pro bono work. This means that they represent some clients for very low fees (or even no fee at all) on the basis that underprivileged members of society deserve representation

• Legal Information and Access Centre (LIAC) which provides legal information through the state-wide public library network
• LawAccess is a free service that can be contacted by phone or online by people requiring interpreting assistance
• LawLink NSW provides information on legal issues including going to court, victims of crime, your rights, and young people and the law.