BANKSTOWN COLLEGE OF TAFE

HSC LEGAL STUDIES

Teacher: Naz Osta

E-Mail: nazosta@hotmail.com

HSC LEGAL STUDIES

Course Content

• Introduction to Legal Studies

• Law and Justice

• Human Rights

• Crime

• Family Law

• World Order

TOTAL:

Duration

• 2 weeks

• 4 weeks

• 4 weeks

• 10 weeks

• 5 weeks

• 5 weeks

30 Weeks

HSC ASSESSMENT CALANDER

Components and Weightings

Task 1

23 feb

Task 2

14 april

Task 3

23 june

Task 4

11 august

Task 5

TBA

PC Exam Introduction to Legal Studies

Exam

10 %

Law and

Society

Assignment

25 % Crime

Research

Essay

25%

Family

Law

Trial HSC

40%All

Topics

TOTAL

100%

Introduction to LawWhat is Law?

Rules that apply to everyone that can be enforced.

Where does our law com from?

Parliament, courts, the constitution and delegated legislation

Why do we need law? Is law necessary?

1. Laws regulate society by telling us what we can do and when.2. Laws enforce values society deems important.3. Laws protect members of the community from harm.4. The law provides a venue for resolution in times of conflict between individuals.5. Laws enforce rights and gains compensation.

What are the characteristics of law?

1. Laws can be enforced.2. laws are accepted by the community.3. Laws are binding on the community.4. Laws are discoverable. ( no hidden laws, you can go out and find out about them).5. Laws are in the public interest.6. Laws reflect morality.

SOURCES OF LAW1/ COMMON LAW: judge made law based on Doctrine of Precedent. The system of Law used in Britain and its

colonies.

PRECEDENT: A binding decision made on a present case based on a previous court case with similar facts.• Judges are bound by the ratio decidendi which is the reason for a judgement• Judges are not bound by the obiter dictum which is a subjective comment, more personal input.

2/ STATUTE LAW: also known as Legislation, or Acts of Parliament. Statute Law is made by Parliament. Eg. Native Title act (1993)

3/ DELEGATED LEGISLATION: laws made by subordinate authorities (eg: Australian Post- cost of Postage).• Advantages~ more effective, quicker, saves time by allowing persons of bodies with relevant expertise to

make decisions about mundane matters etc.

4/ CONSTITUTION: describes how the country should be run and outlines how Power is divided and the rights it gives its citizens.

• To bring together the 6 colonies in a federation (power sharing): Created a new level of govt, the Commonwealth and set out rules for the relation between this new level (federal) and the states (former colonies).

5/ INTERNATIONAL LAW: governs the interactions between nations. If a nation breaches international law, it can be dealt with by the international community through: Trade Embargoes, Denial of Diplomatic Recognition, Trade Sanctions and Military Action.

• THE UNITED NATIONS: acts as a global security and development organisations. The UN maintains global peace and security. [The General Assembly, Security Council, the Economic & Social Council, the Secretariat and the Trusteeship Council].

THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIADIVISION OF POWER: Powers are divided between the States and the Federal Government.

1/ Residual Powers: are the powers that the states retained after federation, eg police, local councils

2/ Concurrent Powers: areas over which both the states and the Commonwealth have legislative power, eg education and health

3/ Exclusive Powers: federal parliament has exclusive power over immigration and defence.

SECTION 109- THAT WHERE A CONFLICT ARISES, COMMONWEALTH LAW PREVAILS OVER THE STATE LAW

SEPARATION OF POWERS: Power is distributed between the 3 arms of government; that is between the legislature, executive and the judiciary.

• Executive- government responsible for putting the laws passed by the legislature into effect.

• Legislature- is parliament which makes statute law

• Judicial- courts which solve disputes and interpret statute law

The Court System

HighCourt

SupremeCourt

District Court

Local Court