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REVISION LECTURE. AREA OF STUDY 1 – LAW IN SOCIETY. A Similarity between a legal rule and a non-legal rule is: A. Both are enforced through the courts B. Both apply to all individuals and groups in society C. Both are made by a law-making body D. Both have a consequence if broken. REVIEW.
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REVISION LECTURE AREA OF STUDY 1 – LAW IN SOCIETY
A Similarity between a legal rule and a non-legal rule is: • A. Both are enforced through the courts • B. Both apply to all individuals and groups in society • C. Both are made by a law-making body • D. Both have a consequence if broken REVIEW
WHAT ARE THE 4 MAIN SOURCES OF LAW? P. 26 • Parliament (Acts, Statutes, Legislation) • Delegated authorities/bodies • Courts (case law, common law, judge-made law) • Traditional/Indigenous laws and customs MAIN SOURCES OF LAW
WHAT ARE THE HOUSES OF THE COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENT CALLED? • WHAT ARE THE HOUSES OF THE VICTORIAN PARLIAMENT CALLED? • WHAT ARE THE STEPS IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS? • Initiation and first reading in the Lower House • Second reading • Consideration in detail/Committee of the Whole • Third reading • Repeated in the Upper House • If passed, goes to the Governor or Governor General for Royal Assent • Becomes law STRUCTURE OF PARLIAMENT
ROLE & KEY FUNCTIONS OF PARLIAMENT • The most important role is to make laws. • Parliament also: • Manages finances (taxes) • Monitors delegated legislation • Discusses and debates issues • Investigates issues related to government
Parliament has the power to make, change and cancel laws. • What are the advantages of Parliamentary law-making? What are the disadvantages? P. 50 • Parliament may give some of its law-making powers to a subordinate body. • Delegated legislation can be made by statutory authorities, government departments, the Executive Council and local municipal councils. • What are the advantages of delegated law-making? What are the disadvantages? P. 45 DELEGATED LAW-MAKING & PARLIAMENTARY LAW-MAKING
HOW DO COURTS DECIDE WHAT A LAW MEANS? • Interpretation Acts (Purpose/Object of the Act, Hansard, minutes, reports, inquiries, law reform bodies, dictionaries and recognised legal texts) • Legal maxims (e.g. ejusdem generis) • Precedents (legal principles from previous similar cases decided by the higher courts) STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A LAW? • Known • Understood • Accepted • Stable • Consistent • Enforced • Accessible EFFECTIVENESS OF LAWS
BILL is a draft law • STATUTORY INTERPRETATION is the process by which courts decide what a law means and how to apply it in a particular situation • PRECEDENT is a legal principle developed by higher courts which are then generally followed by lower courts in similar cases • LEGISLATIVE PROCESS describes the steps involved in turning a bill into a piece of legislation (through Parliament) • DELEGATED LEGISLATION is a law made by a body (not Parliament) which Parliament has given some of its law-making power to • STATUTES, ACTS, LEGISLATION = laws DEFINE & USE KEY LEGAL TERMS