HSC Legal Studies: Human Rights, Crime, Family, and Consumer Law

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the core themes of the HSC Legal Studies curriculum: Human Rights, Crime, Family Law, and Consumer Law.

Human Rights

A set of principles, basic freedoms, and fair treatment given to all human beings, which governments and individuals must abide by and consider when making decisions.

First Generation Human Rights

Civil and political rights recognised in international documents such as the UDHR and ICCPR.

Second Generation Human Rights

Economic, cultural, and social rights recognised in documents such as the UDHR and ICESCR.

Third Generation Human Rights

Peace and environmental rights that are collective in nature and addressed through global cooperation.

Universal (Characteristic of Human Rights)

The principle that human rights apply to all people at all times, regardless of circumstances.

Inherent (Characteristic of Human Rights)

The characteristic meaning rights are intrinsic to humanity and cannot be separated from the experience of being human.

Inalienable (Characteristic of Human Rights)

The characteristic establishing that human rights cannot be removed, given up, traded, or sold.

Indivisible (Characteristic of Human Rights)

The concept that all human rights are equally important and that no rights are superior to others.

Interdependent (Characteristic of Human Rights)

The principle that the successful enjoyment of any given right depends upon the fulfillment of other rights.

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC)

An international human rights treaty stipulating that children should not be detained unlawfully, cited in Australia regarding the detention of refugee children.

Dietrich v The Queen (1992)

A landmark High Court case recognizing a limited common law right to legal representation to ensure a fair trial in serious criminal cases.

Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth)

Statute law establishing the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to investigate complaints, whose recommendations are not necessarily legally binding or enforceable.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

A permanent court of last resort established in $2002$ by the Rome Statute to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression.

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

An intergovernmental agency that addresses labor standards and reported that approximately $40\text{ million}$ people were victims of modern slavery in $2016$.

UK Modern Slavery Act (2015)

Legislation requiring any business with an annual turnover exceeding $£36\text{ million}$ to report on transparency and anti-slavery measures in their supply chains.

Anti-Slavery Australia

A non-legal organization that works with victims to provide support and legal advice, highlighting that modern slavery impacts $1\text{ in }200$ people.

Charter of Rights

A proposed legal document setting out all human rights in one accessible place; debated between proponents citing $90\%$ public support and opponents citing the adequacy of statute and common law.

LEPRA 2002 (NSW)

The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW), which governs police powers including section 21 search and seizure based on 'reasonable grounds'.

Crimes Amendment (Consorting and Organised Crime) Act 2012 (NSW)

Legislation that created anti-consorting offenses under section 93X to deter criminal networks, challenged in cases like Tajjour.

Bail Act 2013 (NSW)

Bail legislation that introduced the 'unacceptable risk' test, replacing previous presumption systems and tested in matters such as the Mahmoud Hawi case.

Bail Act 2014 (NSW)

An amendment that introduced the 'show cause' requirement for serious offenses, enacted following controversies like the conditional release of Man Haron Monis.

Section 138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW)

A statutory provision giving judges discretion to admit improperly or illegally obtained evidence if the desirability of admitting it outweighs the undesirability.

Circle Sentencing

An alternative method of sentencing under section 32 of the Criminal Procedure Regulation 2017 designed for Indigenous offenders that involves community elders to provide culturally appropriate justice.

Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW)

Legislation aimed at encouraging youth rehabilitation and diversion from the court system using warnings, cautions, and Youth Justice Conferences.

Youth Justice Conference

A restorative justice diversionary process bringing together a young offender, their family, victims, and specialists to discuss the crime, remorse, and appropriate restitution.

Charge Negotiations

A process regulated under the Justice Legislation Amendment (Committal and Guilty Pleas) Act 2017 offering sentence discounts ($25\%$, $10\%$, or $5\%$) to incentivize early guilty pleas.

Doli Incapax

The legal presumption that children under $10$ have no criminal responsibility, and children aged $10-14$ have a rebuttable presumption of lacking criminal intent.

Crimes (Sentencing Procedures) Amendment (Sentencing Options) Act 2017

A reform replacing suspended sentences with three non-custodial orders: Intensive Correction Orders (ICO), Community Correction Orders (CCO), and Conditional Release Orders (CRO).

Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 (NSW)

Statute outlining procedures police must follow to obtain forensic material (such as DNA mouth swabs) and requiring court permission when testing a minor who cannot consent.

Crime of Aggression

An international crime defined as the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of another State.

Extradition Act 1988 (Cth)

Domestic Australian legislation regulating bilateral arrangements and the return of accused criminals across borders to stand trial.

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

An ad-hoc tribunal established in $1993$ by the UN to prosecute crimes from the breakup of Yugoslavia, establishing that sitting heads of state could face international prosecution.

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

An ad-hoc tribunal formed in $1994$ that established major legal precedents interpreting genocide, recognizing systematic rape as genocide, and convicting media propagandists.

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

Legislation that revolutionized Australian divorce by removing 'fault' grounds and replacing them with a single ground: the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage (section 48).

Friendly Parent Provision

A section introduced by the Family Law Amendment Act 2006 (Cth) that required courts to evaluate each parent's willingness to foster a relationship with the other, later repealed due to domestic violence risks.

Family Dispute Resolution (FDR)

A mandatory mediation step under section 60I of the Family Law Act 1975 to negotiate parenting plans out of court, exempting situations involving domestic violence.

Family Law (Family Violence and Other Measures) Amendment Act 2011

Statutory reform that repealed the Friendly Parent Provision to prioritize child safety and protection from family violence over maintaining contact with both parents.

Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW)

Legislation providing child welfare protections, including mandatory reporting requirements for professionals when children are suspected of being at risk of harm.

Wood Inquiry (2008)

An inquiry into child protection triggered by severe abuse cases that led to shifting the mandatory reporting threshold from 'risk of harm' to 'risk of significant harm'.

Dads in Distress

A non-legal community advocacy group that campaigned against presumed maternal custody in family law, influencing the introduction of shared parental responsibility in $2006$.

Australian Consumer Law (ACL)

A single, uniform national consumer protection regime established in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 that replaced over $20$ state and territory laws.

Consumer (under s4(B) of Competition and Consumer Act 2010)

A legal definition covering purchases under a statutory threshold, which was increased from $\$40,000$ to $\$100,000$ to account for inflation.

Section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL)

A statutory protection prohibiting misleading or deceptive conduct in trade or commerce, applying broadly to a 'person' rather than only 'corporations'.

CHOICE

A non-legal, independent consumer advocacy organization that tests retail products, informs consumers, and campaigns for proactive general safety provisions in law.

Spam Act 2003 (Cth)

Commonwealth legislation prohibiting unsolicited commercial electronic messages to safeguard consumers from technological marketing invasions.

Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)

A non-profit non-governmental dispute resolution scheme established in $2018$ to resolve consumer credit and finance disputes up to a $\$1\text{ million}$ limit outside court.

NSW Fair Trading Complaints Register

A public 'name and shame' transparency mechanism that lists businesses that receive at least $10$ consumer complaints in a single month.

NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)

A specialized dispute resolution tribunal that consolidated $22$ disparate bodies to deliver accessible, efficient, and legally binding consumer and commercial remedies.

Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)

A foundational common law precedent establishing the modern doctrine of negligence and the legal duty of care owed by manufacturers to consumers.

Commercial Bank of Australia v Amadio (1983)

A landmark High Court case creating equitable protection against unconscionable conduct in contracts where a party takes predatory advantage of a special disability.

Contracts Review Act 1980 (NSW)

State legislation allowing courts to grant relief from, modify, or set aside contracts deemed unjust, harsh, oppressive, or unconscionable.