Legal Studies - Legal Foundations

principles of justice
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Terms in this set (25)
principles of justice
- fairness
- equality
- access
fairness
impartial and just treatment or behaviour without favouritism and discrimination. everybody is given opportunity to present their case fairly.
state of being equal, especially in status, rights or opportunities. everybody who comes before the court is treated the same, regardless of personal attributes
equality
access
everyone in the legal system is able to use resources, procedures and institutions throughout the legal system
- cost factors (cost of legal representation etc)
- time factors (delays in justice system)
- cultural factors (aspects of certain cultures or races)
factors affecting justice system
social cohesion
a term used to describe the willingness of members of a society to cooperate with each other in order to survive and prosper
- members are unified
- provided opportunities with work, education and in social life
- promotes theirs and other wellbeing
- sense of belonging
- challenge disharmony
benefits of social cohesion
rights of individuals
- freedom of speech
- freedom of religion
- right to vote
- right to silence
- laws provide guidelines on what is acceptable behaviour and what is not
- protect individuals rights
- set out how disputes are resolved
role of laws
role of individuals
- once laws are in place to protect individuals rights it is the individuals responsibility to ensure they are aware of the laws and abide by them
- set of methods and institutions which makes administers and enforces law - systems to resolve, implements consequences eg. police, courts, parliamentrole of legal systemexample incident involving criminal and civil lawFor example, assault can be both a civil matter and a criminal matter. It is criminal case because when one person intentionally strikes and injures another individual, he has committed a crime in violation of the Penal Code. At the same time, if a victim of said crime receives injuries and experiences pain and suffering, he can sue the person who caused the injury in civil court for money damages to compensate the victim for his medical expenses, pain and suffering.- laws must reflect society's values - laws must be enforceable - laws must be know - laws must be clear and understood - laws must be stablecharacteristics of an effective lawlaws must reflect society's valuesmust reflect current values. if a law is inline with values, members of society are more willing and inclined to follow it. this means laws need to change when values change eg marriage equality actif people break the law it must be possible to catch and punish them or sue them in a civil case eg. non enforceable is smoking in a home with small childrenlaws must be enforceablelaws must be knownfor a law to be known the public must know about it. if people aren't aware of a new law they won't be able to follow it. responsibilities lies on individuals ("i didn't know" is not good excuse), the media and law makers (inform the public)important for a law to be written in a way that means people can understand it and it is clear what the intent is. if law is unclear or written in language of jargon, it is possible people wont follow it and it will be ineffective.laws must be clear and understoodlaws must be stableif the laws were constantly changing, no one would be certain what the law was and it may not be as effective as a law that has been constant for a long time.the lawful authority of a court, tribunal or other dispute resolution body to decide legal casesjurisdictionvictorian court hierarchycourts are arranged in a hierarchy. courts are independent from parliament so judges resolve cases without interference from politicians (ensuring fairness). each court has jurisdiction or power to hear certain cases, high or supreme court hear serious and complex cases while lower courts, like magistrates, hear more every day issues. most courts hear both criminal and civil cases and appeals. coroners court investigates suspicious deaths and children's courts investigates criminal and family matters involving children.magistrates court + coroners and children's courts -> county court -> supreme court + court of appeal + trial division -> high court of Australiathe hierarchy (lowest to highest)reasons for court hierarchy- specialisation (develop expertise in hearing certain cases so deliver fair and just outcomes) - facilitates appeals (person who believes error has been made in their case can appeal to higher court to review) - allows for doctrine of precedent to operate (courts have to follow earlier decisions in higher courts, in their own hierarchy, with cases involving similar facts) - administrative convenience (cases can be heard more efficiently as more frequently occurring minor matters are heard in magistrates court and smaller amount in high or supreme courts)laws made by parliament. also called Acts of Parliament or legislation. parliamentary system is based on concept of supremacy of parliament (meaning parliaments can override laws made by other bodies). idea for a law can come from a political party, pressure group or members of society. party will decide that they want discuss further and will debate the idea. if decision is made to proceed then a bill will be drafted to be presented before parliament. murder originated as common law offence and developed through common law. some legislation has been made to the crime of murder (provocation defence). negligence also created as common law and then adjusted by parliamentstatute lawcommon lawlaws made by judges through decisions made on cases; also known as case law or judge made law. through interpretation of laws and apply to the case (statutory interpretation). by deciding on a new issue that is brought in a case when there is no legislation in the area to apply to situation (justify). judge will provide a decision and reasons developed by doctrine of precedent.the principle that all members of a society are bound by law and that laws should be fair and clearrule of law