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Legal Studies
Key Definitions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Social cohesion: | The presence of strong relationships and bonds that unite society and encourage cooperation, alongside an absence of war and conflict. |
| Democratic Society: | An organised system of people living in a community, in which the laws and processes that govern people’s lives are created by elected representatives. |
| Fairness: | The principle that all people can participate in the justice system and its processes should be impartial and open. |
| Equality: | The principle that all people engaging with the justice system and its processes should be treated in the same way. |
| Rule of law: | The principle that the law applies to everyone equally regardless of status. |
| Access: | The principle that all people should be able to engage with the justice system and its processes on an informed basis. |
| Law That Reflect Society's Values: | A characteristic of an effective law in that the law upholds what the majority of society accepts and believes in |
| Enforceable Law: | A characteristic of an effective law, in that it is possible to monitor whether people abide by the law, allowing consequences to be provided to those who do not. |
| Known Law: | A characteristic of an effective law in that people are aware of a law and any changes to it, with adequate time being provided to become familiar with any new laws or changes. |
| Law That Is Clear And Understood: | A characteristic of an effective law in that individuals can comprehend the requirements of a law and are able to abide by it. |
| Stable Law: | A characteristic of an effective law in that a law should not change so frequently that it is difficult to keep up with. |
| Parliament: | A legislative body, comprised of elected representatives, that is primarily concerned with creating the laws of the society it represents. |
| Statute Law: | The body of law that comprises laws made by parliament, also known as legislation. |
| Election: | A public voting process in which new representatives are chosen to be a part of parliament, and from which a government is determined. |
| Bicameral Parliament: | A law-making body with two houses or chambers that must approve of both new laws and bills. |
| Member Of Parliament (MP): | An elected, political representative of people who live in a certain area, su h as a district or state. |
| Court: | A legal institution concerned with the interpretation and application of laws, in order to make legal decisions involving crimes or legal disputes. |
| Common Law: | The body of law that is derived from judicial reasoning and decisions in past cases. |
| Parliamentary Supremacy: | The legal concept that parliament has the freedom to make, amend, or abolish laws, subject to limitations outlined in the constitution, and is supreme over other arms of government, such as the executive and the judiciary. |
| Codification: | The process of parliament confirming common law precedent by enacting legislation to give effect to the legal principles. |
| Abrogation: | The process of parliament overruling common law by creating a statute contrary to a decision of the courts. |
| Doctrine Of Precedent: | A rule in which judges must follow the reasons for decisions given by superior courts in the same hierarchy when deciding a case before them with similar facts. |
| Ratio Decidendi: | A judges reason for a decision in a case, which establishes a new legal precedent. |
| Obiter Dictum: | A latin term meaning 'it was said by the way': referring to a judges comments made in passing to provide context to a legal decision. |
| Binding Precedent: | The legal reasoning that must be followed by all lower courts in the same court hierarchy if the material facts are similar. |
| Persuasive Precedent: | When deciding on a case, judges may consider persuasive precedents to guide their decisions. However, they aren't required to follow such precedent. Example of persuasive precedent may be decisions made by a lower court or same court in the hierarchy. |
| Statutory Interpretation: | A process whereby the courts give meaning to the words in legislation when applying the legislation to a case. |
| Standing: | The requirement that, in order to bring a case to court, an individual or group must be affected by, or have a special interest in, the issues involved in the case. |
| Reversing A Precident: | When a case is appealed and the superior court alters the precedent set by a lower court. When this happens, it means a new precedent is established by the superior court. |
| Overruling A Precedent: | When a superior court invalidates a previous decision of a lower court by establishing a new precedent in a different case with similar facts. Courts can also overrule their own decisions. |
| Disapproving A Precedent: | When a lower court expresses its disapproval for a precedent established by a higher court through its written judgement, but is still bound to follow it. |
| Governor: | The representative of the Monarch in each of the states. |
| Governor-Generel: | The Representative of the Monarch in the commonwealth parliament. |
| Delegated Legislation: | Law that is not made directly by an Act Of Parliament but under the authority of an act of parliament. |
| Court Hierarchy: | The arrangement of courts in order of superiority. |
| High Court Of Australia: | The most superior court in Australia, that hears the most indictable offence and federal cases. |
| Original Jurisdiction: | The legal power of a court or other authority to hear a case for the first time. |
| Appellate Jurisdiction: | The legal power of a court to review a decision of lower court or tribunal on appeal. |
| Specialisation: | The process of a court developing expertise in a particular area of law as a result of hearing similar matters regularly. |
| Administrative Conveniance: | The systematic benefit derived from legal matters being distributed amongst the courts according to their complexity and severity. |
| Appeal: | The legal process that a dissatisfied party may pursue to have a court's decision reviewed by a higher court. |
| Criminal Law: | An area of law that aims to protect society from harm by defining prohibited behaviours and outlining sanctions for those who participate in illegal activity. |
| Crime: | An act or omission that violates an existing law, causes harm to an individual, or society as a whole, and is punishable by law. |
| Prosecution: | The party that acts on behalf of the commonwealth or the state and brings a criminal case to court. |
| OPP (office of public prosecutions) | The public body responsible for initiating, preparing, and conducting legal proceedings for serious criminal matters in Victoria, on behalf of the victorian community. |
| Accused: | The party who is charged with a criminal case. |
| Beyond reasonable doubt: | The standard of proof required in criminal proceedings, which means the prosecution needs to prove to the jury that there is no doubt that the crime hasn't been committed. |
| Civil Law: | As area of law that defines the rights and responsibilities of individuals, government entities, and organisations, and provides a legal framework for when these parties interact with each other. |
| Sanction: | The punishment of a criminal offence for someone found guilty. |
| Remedy: | The compensation of someone found liable in a civil case. |
| Plaintiff: | The party that initiates action in court for a civil case. |
| Civil Dispute: | A disagreement between two parties where on believes their rights have been infringed by actions of the other party. |
Created by:
Lani_13
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