Public Law and Statutory Interpretation Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering foundational concepts of public law, government structures, constitutional history, legislative power, executive power, judicial power, human rights, and statutory interpretation principles based on Public Law and Statutory Interpretation.

Public Law

The body of legal principles that apply to public power, determining its scope, nature, limitations, procedures, and who can exercise it.

Public Power

Power typically exercised by institutions and people making up government (parliaments, executive, and courts) that determines how a legal system and nation operate.

Rule of Law

A foundational ideal representing the antithesis of arbitrary rule, requiring that no person or government official is above the law, and all are bound by and subject to the law.

A.V. Dicey's Rule of Law

A concept comprising three distinct features: no man is punishable except for a distinct breach of law established before ordinary courts; every man is subject to the ordinary law administered by ordinary tribunals; and constitutional rights result from judicial decisions.

Lon Fuller's Eight Routes to Failure

Eight ways a legal system fails to achieve law: ad hoc decisions, failure to publicize, abuse of retroactive laws, obscurity, contradictory rules, impossible demands, frequent changes, and incongruence between rules and administration.

Joseph Raz's Rule of Law Theory

A formal political ideal requiring laws to be capable of guiding human behavior (prospective, open, clear, and stable), distinguished from democracy, substantive justice, or human rights.

Lord Bingham's Rule of Law Theory

A 'thick' definition asserting that all persons and authorities are bound by laws publicly made, prospectively applied, and publicly administered by courts, extending to the protection of fundamental human rights.

Constitutionalism

The principle that government power should be limited and its exercise controlled by higher legal or constitutional principles.

Political Constitutionalism

A constitutional model relying primarily on political mechanisms and the electoral process, rather than court enforcement, to control the exercise of government power.

Legal Constitutionalism

A constitutional model containing substantial legal limits on government power that are directly enforced by the courts.

Section 128 of the Australian Constitution

The provision establishing the double-majority requirement (approval by a national majority of electors and a majority of electors in a majority of States) required to alter the Australian Constitution.

Representative Democracy

A model of democracy in which the primary role of the people is to choose representatives through elections to make government decisions on their behalf.

Federalism

A system of government in which power is divided between an autonomous central/federal government and autonomous state or regional governments.

Separation of Powers

The political and legal doctrine dividing government power into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent the concentration and abuse of power.

Responsible Government

The constitutional doctrine requiring executive Ministers to be members of Parliament and enjoy the confidence of Parliament.

Constitutional Convention

An unwritten political custom, practice, or rule regulating government conduct that is not legally enforceable by courts.

Dualist System

A legal framework in which international treaties entered into by the executive are not legally binding or enforceable in domestic law until enacted by Parliament.

Terra Nullius

An international law legal fiction meaning 'land belonging to no one,' historically applied to treat Australia as practically unoccupied prior to British settlement.

Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992)

A landmark High Court decision rejecting the legal fiction of terra nullius and recognizing common law native title based on pre-existing Indigenous customary law.

Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 (Imp)

Imperial legislation establishing that colonial laws were void for repugnancy only if contrary to Imperial Acts extending directly to the colony.

Statute of Westminster 1931 (Imp)

Imperial legislation (adopted by Australia in 1942) removing Imperial repugnancy restrictions and granting full extraterritorial legislative power to Dominion Parliaments.

Australia Acts 1986

Legislation passed by the Commonwealth, UK, and States in 1986 that completely severed all remaining legal and constitutional ties between the United Kingdom and Australia.

Bicameralism

A parliamentary structure comprising two separate houses or chambers (an upper house and a lower house).

Section 53 of the Australian Constitution

A constitutional provision establishing that proposed laws appropriating revenue or imposing taxation shall not originate in or be amended by the Senate.

Section 57 of the Australian Constitution

A constitutional provision establishing the double-dissolution mechanism for resolving legislative deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Section 44 of the Australian Constitution

A constitutional provision setting out grounds of disqualification for sitting in Parliament, including holding dual citizenship or an office of profit under the Crown.

Delegated Legislation

Laws, such as regulations or by-laws, made by executive officers or bodies under authority granted by an Act of Parliament.

Section 109 of the Australian Constitution

A constitutional provision stipulating that when a State law is inconsistent with a Commonwealth law, the Commonwealth law prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.

Parliamentary Privilege

Immunities and powers enjoyed by houses of Parliament and their members (such as freedom of speech in debates) necessary to perform their legislative and oversight functions without judicial interference.

Section 61 of the Australian Constitution

A constitutional provision vesting Commonwealth executive power in the Queen, exercisable by the Governor-General, extending to the execution and maintenance of the Constitution and laws.

Prerogative Powers

Non-statutory executive powers historically derived from the residual discretionary authority of the Crown, such as declaring war or entering into treaties.

Nationhood Power

An aspect of non-statutory executive power under s 61 enabling the Commonwealth executive to engage in enterprises peculiarly adapted to the government of a nation.

Royal Commission

An extraordinary, independent public inquiry established by the executive under statutory authority with coercive powers to investigate matters of public importance.

Ombudsman

An independent statutory officer empowered to investigate complaints from the public regarding government administration and recommend corrective action.

Merits Review

A review performed by administrative tribunals evaluating whether an executive decision was the 'correct or preferable' decision on the facts, law, and policy.

Section 71 of the Australian Constitution

A constitutional provision vesting Commonwealth judicial power exclusively in the High Court of Australia, other federal courts created by Parliament, and courts invested with federal jurisdiction.

Boilermakers' Case Principles

Constitutional doctrines establishing that federal judicial power can only be exercised by Chapter III courts, and Chapter III courts cannot exercise non-judicial powers (unless ancillary).

Kable Doctrine

A constitutional principle establishing that State Parliaments cannot confer powers or functions on State courts that impair their institutional integrity as repositories of federal jurisdiction.

Judicial Review

The jurisdiction of courts to determine the legal validity and lawfulness of administrative or executive actions.

Section 75(v) of the Australian Constitution

A constitutional provision entrenching original jurisdiction in the High Court for matters seeking writs of Mandamus, prohibition, or injunction against an officer of the Commonwealth.

Statement of Compatibility

A document required under human rights legislation to accompany new bills assessing their compatibility with statutory human rights standards.

Declaration of Incompatibility

A judicial declaration under statutory human rights charters that a provision is incompatible with a human right, which does not affect the legal validity or enforcement of the provision.

Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth)

A Commonwealth Act providing general rules, definitions, and principles of construction for interpreting Commonwealth legislation.

Section 15AA of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth)

A statutory rule requiring an interpretation of an Act that best achieves the purpose or object underlying the Act to be preferred over other interpretations.

Section 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth)

A statutory provision permitting consideration of extrinsic material (such as explanatory memoranda or second reading speeches) to assist in ascertaining statutory meaning.

Ejusdem Generis

A syntactical rule of statutory construction providing that general words following a list of specific words are restricted to things of the same class or kind.

Noscitur a Sociis

A syntactical rule of statutory construction providing that the meaning of an ambiguous word may be known from its accompanying words or context.

Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius

A syntactical maxim stating that the express mention of one thing implies the exclusion of another.

Generalia Specialibus Non Derogant

An interpretive maxim providing that general statutory provisions do not derogate from specific statutory provisions.