Legal History Seminar One – Key Concepts

50 fill-in-the-blank flashcards covering key themes from the Legal History Seminar One lecture, including sources of law, rule of law principles, constitutional developments, customary law, and Aboriginal recognition.

The Latin phrase __ literally means "land belonging to no one".

terra nullius

Australia's early 20th-century exclusionary immigration stance was called the __ Policy.

White Australia

The High Court decision in __ (1992) overturned the terra nullius doctrine.

Mabo (No.2)

The federal statute passed in 1975 to implement the UN racial discrimination convention is the __ Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth).

Racial

AV __ popularised the phrase "rule of law" in the early 1900s.

Dicey

Dicey's rule of law holds that punishment can occur only through the __ courts of the land.

ordinary

According to Dicey, __ is above the law.

no one

Dicey said that individual rights in Britain arise from the __ law rather than a written constitution.

common

King __ sealed Magna Carta in 1215 after baronial rebellion.

John

The historic meeting that produced Magna Carta took place at __.

Runnymede

Lord Tom __ set out eight modern sub-rules of the rule of law.

Bingham

One of Bingham's sub-rules requires that the law be __, clear and predictable.

accessible

Former Governor-General Sir Ninian __ identified four cardinal rule-of-law principles.

Stephen

Australia's hybrid Westminster-Washington system is nicknamed the __ model.

Washminster

The Constitution guarantees that property acquired by the Commonwealth must be on __ terms.

just

Section 80 of the Constitution provides a right to __ by jury in federal indictable offences.

trial

Section 116 protects a limited free __ of religion.

exercise

Future High Court justice __ Isaacs claimed Aborigines lacked capacity to vote in 1902.

Isaac Isaacs

Justice H.B. __ called it "utterly inappropriate" to let Aborigines vote.

Higgins

Anthropologically, early legal rules arose within __ or family groups.

kinship

In medieval England, armed combat to settle disputes was called trial by __.

battle

Trial by __ involved oath-swearing supported by compurgators.

wager of law

The withdrawal of clergy from secular courts fostered the rise of trial by __.

jury

Equitable relief was granted in the Court of the __ during the Middle Ages.

Chancellor

The saying that law has a teaching function is captured by the idea that "what is legal becomes what is __".

right

The rule of law is contrasted with the rule of __, where leaders act above the law.

men

Professor Martin __ views the rule of law chiefly as rejection of arbitrariness.

Krygier

Legal theorist Julius __ argued the rule of law is fundamentally ethical.

Stone

Lord __ observed that "obedience to the unenforceable" gauges national character.

Moulton

Beyond restricting conduct, law also __ human activity by creating certainty.

enables

The Commonwealth first legislated uniformly for marriage in __.

1961

The 2004 amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples was enacted under Prime Minister __ Howard.

John Howard

The High Court struck down the ACT same-sex marriage law in __ (year).

2013

Royal justices provided more objective justice than local __ courts.

manorial

English common law evolved from decisions based on local __.

custom

Stopping at a red traffic light even without oncoming cars illustrates law's creation of social __.

certainty

Dicey stressed that even government bodies must appear before the __ law courts.

ordinary

Jennings said the rule of law is a synonym for __ and order.

law

Australia ratified a 1966 UN convention aimed at eliminating __ discrimination.

racial

The 1840 Treaty of __ acknowledged Maori customary land ownership.

Waitangi

Completion of the transcontinental railway in __ linked Australia's east and west coasts.

1917

Bingham stated that public officials must administer the law in __ faith.

good

Another Bingham sub-rule requires dispute resolution without undue __.

delay

Scholar Elaine __ coined the term "Washminster".

Thompson

The common law duty of procedural fairness aligns with the US constitutional guarantee of __ process.

due

Law's teaching function is sometimes described by saying it possesses an __.

imprimatur

Determining guilt through painful physical trials was known as trial by __.

ordeal

The consolidation of common lands into private farms in England was called the __ movement.

enclosure

In Mabo (No.2), Brennan J emphasised the value of __ before the law.

equality

The High Court invalidated the ACT same-sex marriage law because it conflicted with existing __ Marriage legislation.

Commonwealth Marriage