The role of the courts: Courts have certain jurisdiction over certain areas of the law. There are several levels of court in NSW which are set out in hierarchical order. The NSW Courts are as…
The legal fiction upon which Australia was founded refers to the British doctrine, “terra nullius”. The phrase translates to “land without ownership”. When Australia was founded, even though the colonisers acknowledged the presence of the Indigenous they considered the Aboriginals too primitive to be actual owners. The Aboriginals were considered too primitive with no identifiable hierarchy or political structure. This legal fiction had a significant impact on Australia with the widely known Mabo Case. In May 1982, Eddie Mabo and four other plaintiffs of the Murray Islands pursued confirmation of their traditional land rights in the High Court of Australia. Their claim had been that Murray Island (Mer) had been previously inhabited and had been possessed by the Meriam people with their own social and political organisations. After 10 years and the death of Mabo, on June 3 1992, the High Court ruled that the lands of Australia were not terra nullius when European settlement occurred and the Meriam people were entitled to the lands of Murray Island. Then in December 1993, the Native Title Act was produced as part of the Commonwealth’s response to the High Court’s decision to protect the native lands of Aboriginals. The legal fiction has therefore had a major impact on Australia’s legal history with the introduction of the Native Title Act where the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were compensated for the dispossession of their lands.…
* Must contribute positively to the well being of all citizens in society. Following features must be present:…
Is the highest court in NSW. It deals with most serious civil cases involving large sums of money…
70616: Australian Constitutional Law Final exam revision Contents What is in the exam? 4 Interpretation of the Constitution 5 Characterisation of the law 6 Subject matter powers - sufficient connection test 6 As in the Bank Nationalisation Case 6 As in Fairfax (1965) 6 As in Herald (1966) 6…
Justice is the concept of moral rightness that is based on equality, access and fairness. This means that the law is applied equally, understood by all people and does not have a particularly harsh effect on an individual. In Australia, the adversary system is used as a means to achieve justice by proving the accused, beyond reasonable doubt, committed the crime. The criminal trial process has many features which aim to fulfill the requirements of achieving justice. These elements, though considers equality, fairness and access, are flawed in practice. Flaws such as the handling of evidence, jurors not understanding instructions, inadequate funds for legal representation and controversial use of defences prove the criminal trial process ineffective.…
Theoretically it is still possible for some appeals to be taken under Section 74 of the Constitution however the Australia Act 1986 (Cwth) provides for the High Court of Australia being the final court of appeal in the Australian judicial…
Before the formation of the Australia, there were six colonies ruling the land of Australia, which were Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia (Harvey 2009). It was stated that each colonies has their own government and laws to manage the colonies.…
This generally means the decision of a high court are mandatory precedent on lower courts like common laws which in some states legally declare marriage of two individuals who have cohabited for a substantial amount of years. The Constitution and laws of each state create the state courts. The supreme court is the kind of a last resort and is the highest court in the land. On a state level you have 94 U.S. judicial districts that are broken down into 12 circuits, with each having a United States Court of Appeals. These courts review and retry trials from their circuit as well as from the federal administrative agencies.…
The codification of the Criminal Code has marked a watershed on Australian legal jurisprudence. In this essay I will discuss the problems that may occur when interpreting the Criminal Code (The Code), the creation of uniformity and the also accessibility that the Code creates.…
The courts alone have the power to interpret the law, which is called jurisdiction. However, their jurisdictional power is restricted to federal and constitutional laws. When the courts make a decision in cases regarding interpretation of the law, it is called precedent. The lower courts must follow the precedent placed by the Supreme Court. Citizens who wish to have their case reviewed by the Supreme Court must appeal to the Court for a writ of certiorari. Typically the Court will hear the case if four of the nine justices decide that they should. The Supreme Court rarely holds trials; the Court’s duty is to interpret laws and decide how they should be enforced. For example, the Supreme Court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide in their landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case after studying the Fourteenth…
On November 16, 2012, I observed a court hearing of 14 cases. Some of these cases dealt with people who committed crimes such as aggravated assault, Acc involving Death/ Injury, Terroristic threats, Retail theft, conspiracy theft, Resist Arrest/Other Law Enforce and Knowing/ in Mftr/Dist of Design Drug.…
Problems are questions that come up as a result of physical service provisions that need to be taken into account when devising solutions. An example of this is out of all of the minority groups that are enrolled in the Unites States School System 60% of Asian students are failing in their courses. Policies are solutions that were established based on problems that were identified for the purpose of ensuring that the organization will meet the standard in which it was intended. An example of this is would be work study programs that would help the students that are failing in their courses to ensure that they succeed and that the problem that caused this issue could be effectively eliminated. A program is an established setting in which the purpose is to fulfill a goal. In this case the goal is to hep students that are struggling academically improve on their skills, and the established setting could be something like tutor sessions or after-school classes. A good example of a program that does this is The Slyvian Center because they have tutors there for those that are middle school through high school to help them in the courses that they need improvement in.…
The criminal trial process is a vital part of the criminal justice system in NSW as it plays a fundamental role in achieving justice, by determining the innocence or guilt of an offender. Yet, despite the criminal trial process still having many complex issues that remove it of achieving its full means of justice, the process has stood the test of time and lasted for more than two centuries. It aims at lawfully and justly providing victims, offenders and society with the rights of a fair trial. The hierarchies of courts play a crucial role in effectuating justice for the community. The courts jurisdiction is the extent of the court’s authority and is often determined by the hierarchy. The lowest form of court is the Local Court. The Local Court Act 1982 (NSW) outlines the offences that are heard in this court. They are less serious crimes, where matters are tried summarily, but are also the location for bail and committal hearings, where police play a prominent role in achieving justice. The Intermediate and High Courts handle indictable crimes as well as appeals from lower courts. It is in these courts that a decision made sets a doctrine of precedent. The court hierarchy is a major part of the criminal trial process as it allows appeals and precedents to flow easily. It attempts to ensure consistency between judicial decisions, as well as limit the discretion on most judicial verdicts. Appeals and precedents fundamentally ensure efficiency and the effectiveness of achieving justice, but despite them being an effective measure in achieving justice, there are still cheaper and more cost-efficient methods, such as YJC, and Circle Sentencing, that can fulfill the same outcome. The cornerstone of Australia’s criminal trial process is the Adversary System. This refers to the legal procedure where two opposing sides argue a case before an independent, third party eg.…
I chose Drug testing programs for welfare applicants. The reason I chose this is because I happen to agree with doing so. I disagree with the junction that the judge put in saying that it is “likely unconstitutional”. I feel this because I am a strong supporter in helping those who are in need, not those that are abusing the help. As a mother of two, and have been on state assistance for help, I often would see those that are known offenders of the system, and find it very disheartened over the fact that we are helping those that are not willing to help themselves.…