Polls exam

legitimacy

a legitimate government is one that has the appropriate authority to rule

legitimacy upheld

free and fair elections where a canditate must secure majority of votes to gain power

legitimacy undermined

Indigenous Aboriginals face severe underrepresentation in elections which leads to lower rates of enrolment and voting

justice

where citizens live in an environment where they are all treated equally and have dignity and respect

justice upheld

everyone has to the right to a free trial and legal representation

justice undermined

miscarriage of justice can occur like Andrew Mallard where a confession was coerced and untruthful

freedom

requires self-determination where citizens can make decisions, accept responsibility and learn from them; requires the ability to choose between alternatives and autonomy to do what the law does not forbid

freedom upheld

Australia has agreed to numerous international treaties on human rights like the Convention Against Torture

freedom undermined

freedom of speech is limited in Australia when it undermines public order or national security or it damages the rights and representations of others

freedom undermined example

NSW Ban on Protest after the terrorist attack, not allowing those who want to march or protest

power

in a liberal democracy, efforts are made to define and limit power, by means of a written constitution

power upheld

separation of power and judicial independance in Australia

power undermined

legislature is able to implement mandatory sentencing which undermines judicial independance

international law

an agreement created by the consent of two or more nations to act in a certain way

international act

can declare a custom or convention that can become international law if other countries agree to those standards

sovereignty

idea that a state has absolute control over its law making, including its indepedance and freedom from external interferance in its own affairs

intervention

upon certain circumstances, the international community or other states can undermine the sovereignty of a state if they are acting in self defence or upholding human rights of people living in another country

venezuela

in early 2026, trump launched a military attack against venezuela, capturing the president and his wife to face US charges while taking control of oil control over the nation

venezuela pro

some frame this as a necessary humanitarian step following years of failed democracy, ending of human right violations, releasing political prisoners and neutralising regional security threats

venezuela con

violation of sovereignty where foreign control of venezuela's government and oil undermine self-determination suggesting that this intervention was for US economic and strategic interest than for humanitarian motives

icc purpose

investigate, persecute and hold individuals accountable for humanity's worst crimes and to help prevent them from happening again

icc pro

Thomas Lubanga

Lubanga

delivered ICC's first persecution and he was able to have a fair trial and be convicted of his crimes of conscripting child soldiers

icc con

Putin

Putin

until he steps foot into a country under ICC, they won't be able to arrest them because the ICC depends on these states and they don't go unpunished if they don't arres the people, because in Putin's case, people don't want to become enemies with Russia and are scared of his powers

process of ratification

signature, international ratification, domestic ratification

signature

when Australia expresses its intention to be bound by the treaty at a later date where it becomes signatory to the treaty

international ratification

confirming the expectation that the laws will be implemented and the country can be held accountable

domestic ratification

changes to domestic laws to reflect the international treaty signed with the Houses of Parliament

process of ratification summary

Australia takes key ideas and intentions to form an international treaty where they create laws in Australia based on the treaty or they take part of the treaty and ammend current laws

geneva convention (1949)

sets mandatory legal standards for humane treatment during armed conflicts

geneva convention example

prohibits targeting citizens and medics must be protected

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1994)

establishes binding rules for maritime zones and environmental pollution

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea example

defines territorial seas and mandate that state control pollution

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

sets out the fundamental human rights to be universally protected

Universal Declaration of Human Rights example

prohibits slavery, establishes that all human beings are born free

treaty bodies

committees of independent experts in international law that monitors if treaties are being upheld or not in the state

enforcement of treaties

countries are held accountable to the treaties they have signed up to by specialised treaty bodies that regularly review reports from countries on their progress

enforcement of treaties example

UN has a series of treaty bodies that are responsible for reporting on Human Rights in signatory countries

middle power

in between great and small powers; possess significant influence but lack overarching military and geopolitical dominance

middle power features

strong and sustainable economies with large growth and growing populations

australia middle power

provides foreign aid to other countries

australia middle power example

MH17 case where aus played a key role in investigations

UN

general assembly, security council, economic and social council, international court of justice, UN secretariat

UNGA

policy making and decision making on important topics like peace and security or the budget

UNSC

maintain peace and security by promoting human rights and solving international problems

economic and social council

recommend international action of social and economic issues, to promote universal respect for human rights and works for global cooperation on health, education and cultural related areas

ICJ

adjudicates general disputes between nations

UN Secretariat

draft resolutions, edit documents and read reports

UNSC structure

15 members where 5 are permenant (Russia, UK, US, China and France) and 15 non-permenant (serve 2 year term)

UNSC powers

maintain peace and security by promoting human rights and solving international problems; can investigate, mediate and dispatch peacekeeping forces and issue economic standpoints

UNSC effectiveness

taking a unified stance and intervenes in conflict to protect civilians and restore order shown through Ivory Coast (UNOIC)

UNOIC

they directly learned from their mistakes in Rwanda and helped joined 2 halves of the country together and there was a lack of state authority allowing the opposition to finally join back in the election in 2016

UNOIC stats

70000 people were disarmed and could join back into society and 250000 refugess returned to their country 2016

UNSC limitations

very reliant on member countries shown through Rwanda

UNAMIR 1

after 10 Belgium soldiers were killed and the European countries wanted to pull them out which made Rwanda very vulnerable to the attacks in their country; it failed after a lack of political will because most of the member states did not want to intervene in the conflict after the Belgium soldiers were killed

UNAMIR 2

major powers lacked the political will to help restore order and protect civilians; had a weak peacekeeping force since many member states had pulled out and there were not many left; the peacekeepers were not allowed to intervene in the conflict only after one of them was hurt/killed/shot

UNSC reform

abolishing veto power

abolishing veto power

enhances legitimacy, efficiency and accountability of international decision making where it prevents one nation from blocking resolutions; however it risks withdrawal of the P5 nations which could potentially destroy the organisation's legitimacy and effectiveness at managing global issues

adversarial system

system where 2 adversaries each present their own case with a judge being the impartial adjudicator

adversarial system strength

individuals are innocent until proven guilty; the government is required to prove the defendant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt

adversarial system weakness

wealthier parties can afford better legal representation, giving them an advantage; relies on evidence presented by both sides so if one decides to withhold evidence it could cause a miscarriage of justice

role of the judge

ensures both parties follow rules of evidence and procedures, remains unbiased until all evidence is heard, determines appropriate punishment or compensation if defendant is found guilty

role of the parties

initiate proceedings, investigate relevant law and evidence for their case, decide on which evidence to be brought before the court, conduct the case with help of legal representation

rules of evidence

evidence is collected by parties, system relies on oral evidence which have strict rules and procedures, evidence of bad character is usually admissible in a criminal trial, witnesses are only allowed to respond is asked a question

criminal law

acts that harm society and is punishable by the state

criminal law case between

prosecution and defendant

criminal law burden of proof

lies on prosecution to prove defendant's guilty

criminal law standard of proof

beyond reasonable doubt

criminal law example

murder, armed robbery, sexual assault

criminal law sentences

life imprisonment, fines

civil law

covers disputes between citizens and companies

civil law case between

plaintiff and defendant

civil law burden of proof

rest of plaintiff to prove their claim

civil law standard of proof

balance of probabilities where the plaintiff must convince the court that their claim is more likely true than not

civil law examples

child custody, trespassing, ownership disputes

civil law sentences

community service, fines

high court of australia

final court of appeal, handles constitutional matters

supreme court of western australia

highest state court, deals with most serious criminal cases like murder

district court of western australia

intermediate court, deals with serious crime offences

magistrate court

handles majority of cases like restraining orders and minor offences

retribution

punishment for committing a crime in order to right a wrong

deterrence

to discourage individuals from committing such crimes by making them think twice about the action

protection

protecting society from dangerous offenders who are at risk of reoffending and causing harm to society

Rehabilitation

reforming an offender to reduce the risk of reoffending

mitigating factor

any factors that reduce the culpability of the offender and the reason for the sentence to be reduced

aggravating factor

any factors that mean the sentence should be increased in severity

totality principle

refers to the idea that the sentence given to the offender must reflect the seriousness of the crime but should not be too crushing

totality principle judge

required to ensure that the total sentence bears proper relationships to the overall criminality involved

imprisonment

custodial sentences to serve in prison

fines

financial penalities for crimes

home detention

less risky offenders can stay at home and are not able to leave without permission

community service

unpaid work ordered by a court to do useful tasks for the public

advantages of mandatory sentencing

ensures that individuals convicted of similar offences recieve comparable sentencing, deters the general public from committing crimes

advantages of mandatory sentencing example

2009, mandatory sentence was passed that gave 6 month imprisonment on assaulting police officers which made the rate drop by 28%, 70% of people in a national survery wanted the sentences to be more punitive and more consistent

limitations of mandatory sentencing

judges are restricted from considering mitigating factors, undermined judicial independance, can lead to injustice against disabled people, Indigenous people, etc

limitations of mandatory sentencing example

zac grieves

zac grieves

convicted of murder for his involvement in a contract killing despite not being present because the NT gov had a mandatory sentencing that gave 20 years which including knowing about the murder but did not try to stop it

Principles of Natural Justice

impartial adjudication, hearing both parties, evidence based decisions, open trials

impartial adjudication

unbiased judges and juries