COURTS & DISPUTE RESOLUTION I

Flashcards on court structure and case law dissection.

Case Citation

A framework for organizing, identifying, and locating legal cases.

Reported Case

A case published in official law report series.

Unreported Case

A case whose judgment exists but hasn't been published in official law report series.

Complete Case Citation

Includes party names, volume number, court reporter abbreviation, page number, and year of decision.

Case Name

The abbreviated title of a decision, derived from the style of cause.

Style of Cause

The full names of the parties and their roles in the proceeding.

Italicization in Case Names

The names of the parties involved should always be italicized.

Reported Case Citation Format

Party Names (Year) Volume Publication Abbreviation Starting Page.

Square Brackets in Case Citation

Indicate the year is essential to find the case.

Round Brackets in Case Citation

Indicate the year is not needed to find the case.

Headnote

A summary of the case outlining the material facts, legal issues, and decision.

Legal Citation

A technical language used to cite authority in legal arguments and judicial opinions.

Parties' Names

The individuals or entities involved in the case.

Court

The tribunal before which the case was heard.

Date of Hearing

The date on which the case was argued in court.

Judges' Names

The justices who presided over the case.

Keywords or Subject Terms

Terms used to categorize the legal issues in the case.

Judicial History

Details of the case’s progression through lower courts.

Authorities Referred To

List of cases, legislation, and textbooks cited in the case.

Opinion or Judgment of the Court

The judge’s decision and reasoning.

Outcome of the Case

The final result or disposition of the case.

Representation

The solicitors and advocates representing the parties.

Docket Number

An identifier for the case within the court's system.

Editorial Summary

A brief overview of the case provided by the publisher.

Key Number

A classification code used in legal research.

Unreported Case Citation Format

Case Name [Year] Court Abbreviation Case Number.

Jurisdiction of the Court

The court's authority to hear and decide a case.

Types of Proceeding

Describes the nature of the case (e.g., civil, criminal).

Decision

The full text of the judgment, including facts, issues, obiter dicta, and ratio decidendi.

Order

The resulting decision at the end of the judgment.

Obiter Dicta

Statements made by a judge that are not essential to the decision.

Facts

The who, when, what, where, and why of the case.

Relevant Facts

Facts that were important to the court's decision.

Legal Issue

The legal question that the court has to answer.

Ratio Decidendi

The necessary reasoning regarding legal aspect that the judge needed to resolve the case.

Common Law Rules

Legal principles derived from judicial decisions.

Interpretation of Statute

The court's explanation of a law's meaning.

Interpretation of Common Law Rules

The court's explanation of previously established common law rules.

Breach of s6 Dog Act

Elisabeth's meadow is land, Elisabeth is owner of the land, Devil has entered Elisabeth's land..

Devil, a wolf, is a dog within the meaning of s 6 of the Dog Act 1947

From a zoological perspective a wolf is a member of the dog family.

DUI

Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Tutorial Questions

Questions can be found every week at the end of the PP slides.

AGLC4

Australian Guide to Legal Citation.

Citation Format

The structured way legal sources such as case laws and statutes are referenced

Law Report Series

Official publications where reported cases are documented.

Legal Arguments

Formal submissions made by lawyers in a court case.

Judicial Opinions

Written statements by judges explaining the reasoning behind their decisions.

Statutes

Laws enacted by a legislative body.

Regulations

Rules issued by government agencies to implement statutes.

Court Rules

Procedural guidelines for courts.

Persuasive Secondary Literature

Legal writings like treatises and journal articles that can influence a court's decision.

Sanctioned

Penalized for not citing authority.

Technical Language

Specialized vocabulary used in legal context.

Case Law

Law established by judicial decisions.

Ratio

Binding part of the ruling.

Ratio decidendi

The most important part of the case which tells you why that ruling/judgement was made.

Obiter dicta

An observation by a judge that has passing relevance to the case but is not key to the final ruling on the matter at hand.

Versus

The opposition to in English, in French its 'Contra'.

Brief

When identifying facts do not merely copy the facts verbatim; not every detail is important.

Legal Question

The questions link your research to your discussion and conclusion.

Identifying Ratio Decidendi

Must be a crucial step to the conclusion, directly related to the issue, from disputes of law and argued in court.

Interpreting Ratrio Decidendi

can be in a form of common law rules, interpretation of statue or interpretation of the common law rules.

Relevant facts

facts that help determine the court’s decision.

citation

includes party names, volume number, court reporter abbreviation, page number, and year of decision.

shortened version of parties' names

use surnames only, the name of the first person if there are two or more people listed or omit periods except if they are integral to a company name.

Unreported cases meanings

cases whose judgments exist but havent been published in such series.

reported cases meanings

cases published in official law report series.

Volume number

The volume number of the law report.

Legal research

The process of finding laws and legal information.

Plaintiff

The person who brings a case against another in a court of law.

Defendant

An individual, company, or institution sued or accused in a court of law.

Appeal

Apply to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower court.

Judge

A public official appointed to decide cases in a court of law.

Lawyer

A person who practices or studies law; an attorney or counselor.

Legal claim

A demand for remedy, usually money, based on asserted legal rights.

Legal defense

A fact or argument that shows that the person accused of a crime or being sued is not guilty.

Trial court

A court of law where cases are tried in the first place, as opposed to an appellate court.

Superior courts

The higher courts in a judicial system, typically with appellate jurisdiction.

Inferior courts

The lower courts in a judicial system.

Federal Court of Australia

A court in Australia that deals with federal matters.

High Court of Australia

The highest court in the Australian judicial system.

Negligence

Failure to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another.

Damages

Money claimed by someone as compensation for harm done.

Personal injury

Physical or psychological harm caused to a person.

Local authority

A body responsible for local government in a specific area.

Appeal and Error

Issues considered by an appellate court when reviewing a lower court's decision.

Municipal Corporations

Cities and towns that have been incorporated and have their own governments.

Affirmed and Remanded

The appellate court upholds the lower court's decision and sends the case back for further action.

Tort Claims Act

A statute that governs claims against government entities for torts.

Abbreviation of the law report title

FLR-The abbreviation of the law report title (in this instance it is the Fiji Law Report).

Law reports

Publications which contain judicial opinions.

judgment

A decision of a court regarding the rights and liabilities of parties in a case.

Legislation

Law that has been enacted by a legislature or other governing body.

Textbooks

Expository discussions of legal topics.

Rule of Law

A concept which asserts that all persons, institutions, and entities are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated.

Due process

The legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person.

Precedent

a legal principle or rule that is created by a court decision.

Defendant

a[n] individual or group being sued or charged with a crime.

Plaintiff

a person who brings a case against another in a court of law.

case

the set of facts or circumstances involving legal questions or issues.