VCE Legal Studies: Civil Law, Dispute Resolution, and Human Rights

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering VCE Legal Studies Unit 2: the protection of human rights in Australia, civil law principles and torts (negligence and defamation), dispute resolution methods, institutional bodies, court hierarchies, and civil remedies.

Human Rights

Basic freedoms, standards, or entitlements that promote and uphold the dignity of all people, guaranteed by a moral sense of duty or by law, and belonging to everyone regardless of attributes such as race, religion, or gender.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

An international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in $1948$ following World War II that outlines basic rights and fundamental freedoms to which all human beings are entitled.

Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities

A Victorian statute (Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic)) that sets out $20$ basic human rights and requires the Victorian Parliament, government departments, and public authorities like Victoria Police to act compatibly with them.

Ultra Vires

A legal term meaning 'beyond the powers'; describes an Act of Parliament or regulation made outside or exceeding parliament's lawful law-making authority, which courts have the power to declare invalid.

Codification

The process by which parliament passes legislation that confirms, reinforces, and endorses common law legal principles or rights established by court rulings.

Abrogation

The cancellation or overriding of a common law legal principle or right by parliament passing legislation that supersedes the court-made precedent.

Express Rights

Human rights that are explicitly and directly stated in the text of the Australian Constitution, which can only be altered or abolished through a compulsory public referendum.

Section 80 of the Australian Constitution

An express constitutional provision that guarantees the right to a trial by jury for individuals charged with Commonwealth indictable offences.

Implied Rights

Rights not explicitly written in the text of the Australian Constitution, but interpreted by the High Court of Australia to exist based on the underlying meaning and structure of constitutional provisions.

Freedom of Political Communication

An implied constitutional right derived from sections $7$ and $24$ of the Australian Constitution, enabling Australians to freely discuss and debate political and governmental matters so they can make informed voting decisions.

Section 116 of the Australian Constitution

An express constitutional right providing limited protection for freedom of religion by preventing the Commonwealth Parliament from establishing a national religion, imposing religious observance, prohibiting free exercise, or requiring a religious test for office.

Suffrage

The right and freedom of eligible citizens to participate in elections and cast a ballot to choose their political leaders and representatives.

Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth)

Federal legislation governing the right to vote in Australian federal elections, establishing compulsory voting since $1925$ for all eligible Australian citizens aged $18$ and over.

External Affairs Power (Section 51(xxix))

A provision of the Australian Constitution granting the Commonwealth Parliament power to pass legislation giving domestic legal effect to international treaties, as affirmed in the Tasmanian Dams case ($1983$).

Civil Law

The body of law dealing with legal disputes between private individuals, businesses, or government entities where one party alleges that another party has infringed their civil rights.

Civil Liability

The legal responsibility of a person, corporation, or entity to pay compensation or fulfill a legal remedy for harm or loss caused by a breach of civil law.

Breach (Civil Law)

A key concept in civil law referring to the failure or omission of a party to fulfill a legal obligation, statutory requirement, duty of care, or contractual term.

Causation

The direct legal relationship between the defendant's act or omission and the harm suffered by the plaintiff, demonstrating that the breach directly caused or resulted in the damage.

Loss

A disadvantage, harm, or damage suffered by a party due to the action or inaction of another, including financial loss, personal injury, property damage, pain and suffering, or loss of amenity.

Loss of Amenity

A form of non-economic loss in civil law that refers to the reduction in a person's enjoyment of life, personal activities, family life, hobbies, or job satisfaction due to an injury.

Limitation of Actions

A statutory restriction that sets a strict maximum timeframe within which a plaintiff is permitted to initiate a civil claim before the right to sue is barred.

Burden of Proof (Civil)

The legal obligation to prove the allegations in a case, which in civil disputes rests entirely with the plaintiff.

Standard of Proof (Civil)

The degree or level of evidence required to prove a case; in civil proceedings, the standard is the balance of probabilities.

Balance of Probabilities

The civil standard of proof requiring the plaintiff to establish that their version of the facts is more likely to be true than not true.

Plaintiff

The aggrieved individual, corporation, or group who initiates a civil lawsuit in court against a defendant and bears the burden of proof.

Defendant

The party in a civil lawsuit who is accused of infringing the plaintiff's rights or causing them harm, and who must defend the claims made against them.

Aggrieved Party

The individual or group who has directly suffered loss, harm, or damage and has had their civil rights infringed.

Vicarious Liability

A legal doctrine in which a third party (most commonly an employer) is held legally responsible for the civil wrongdoings or negligence committed by an employee during their course of employment.

Class Action

A single civil legal action commenced by a lead plaintiff on behalf of seven or more persons against the same defendant arising out of the same, similar, or related circumstances involving a common issue of law or fact.

Negligence

A civil tort where a party owes a legal duty of care to another, breaches that duty by failing to take reasonable care, and directly causes foreseeable injury, loss, or damage.

Duty of Care

The legal obligation to take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions that could be reasonably foreseen to cause injury or harm to others.

Remoteness of Damage

A principle in negligence that considers whether the consequences of a negligent act were so far removed and unexpected that they could not have been reasonably foreseen by the defendant.

Contributory Negligence

A partial defence to negligence where the defendant proves the plaintiff failed to take reasonable care for their own safety, resulting in a proportionate reduction in the damages awarded.

Voluntary Assumption of Risk

A complete defence to negligence (volenti non fit injuria) claiming the plaintiff had full knowledge of, appreciated, and voluntarily consented to assume the inherent risks of an activity.

Defamation

A civil tort involving the communication or publication of false and untrue statements to a third party that causes or is likely to cause serious harm to an identifiable plaintiff's personal, business, or professional reputation.

Defence of Justification

A defence to defamation applicable when the defendant proves that the defamatory statement or publication is substantially true.

Defence of Contextual Truth

A defence to defamation raised when multiple defamatory statements are published in the same context and the substantially true statements overshadow the untrue statements so that no further damage is done to the plaintiff's reputation.

Defence of Honest Opinion

A defence to defamation where the defendant proves the statement was an honest expression of personal commentary or opinion based on proper material on a matter of public interest, rather than an allegation of fact.

Absolute Privilege

A complete defence to defamation providing total immunity from liability for statements made in proceedings where unrestricted communication is paramount, such as parliamentary debates or court trials.

Fairness

A principle of justice requiring that all individuals can participate in the legal system and that legal processes are impartial, transparent, open, and free from bias.

Equality

A principle of justice requiring all people to be treated equally before the law, with adequate measures implemented to eliminate disparity or disadvantage for marginalized individuals.

Access

A principle of justice ensuring that all individuals have the ability to engage with the legal system, its procedures, and institutions on an informed basis.

Mediation

A cooperative dispute resolution method in which an independent third party (the mediator) facilitates discussion between disputing parties to help them reach their own voluntary agreement, without offering opinions or making binding decisions.

Conciliation

A dispute resolution method where an independent third party with relevant expertise (the conciliator) facilitates communication, clarifies issues, and suggests possible solutions to help parties reach an agreement.

Arbitration

A formal dispute resolution method where an independent third party (the arbitrator) hears evidence and arguments from both sides and issues a legally binding determination known as an arbitral award.

Arbitral Award

The legally binding and enforceable final decision handed down by an arbitrator at the conclusion of an arbitration proceeding.

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)

A specialist dispute resolution tribunal established to provide Victorians with a low-cost, efficient, and accessible alternative to court proceedings for civil and administrative disputes.

Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV)

A Victorian government complaints body that offers free advice and voluntary conciliation services to resolve disputes between consumers and businesses or tenants and landlords.

Ombudsman

An independent, free dispute resolution official appointed by the government or an industry sector to investigate complaints made by individuals against government bodies or commercial services.

Fair Work Ombudsman

An independent statutory agency that provides free education, investigates complaints, and enforces compliance regarding workplace entitlements, awards, wages, and unlawful termination under Australian employment laws.

Original Jurisdiction

The legal authority of a court or tribunal to hear and determine a legal dispute or claim for the very first time.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a higher court to review, rehear, and determine appeals challenging a legal decision or ruling made by a lower court or tribunal.

Victorian Court Hierarchy

The ranking of Victorian courts in order of authority from least to most superior: Magistrates' Court, County Court, Supreme Court (Trial Division), Supreme Court (Court of Appeal), with the High Court of Australia at the apex.

Civil Jury

An optional panel of $6$ randomly chosen citizens who listen to evidence, follow judicial directions, and decide the defendant's liability on the balance of probabilities, sometimes assessing damages.

Remedy

A court or tribunal order designed to uphold civil rights, compensate for loss, and return the plaintiff, as far as possible, to their original position prior to the civil breach.

Damages

A monetary civil remedy awarded by a court or tribunal to a plaintiff to provide financial compensation for the loss or damage caused by the defendant's civil breach.

Specific Damages

A type of compensatory damages awarded for quantifiable, precise economic losses with exact monetary calculations, such as hospital bills, medical fees, and lost wages.

General Damages

A type of compensatory damages awarded for non-quantifiable losses that cannot be calculated with exact mathematical figures, such as pain and suffering, physical impairment, or loss of enjoyment of life.

Aggravated Damages

Additional compensatory damages awarded to a plaintiff when the defendant's conduct was insulting, malicious, or humiliating, resulting in heightened distress and injury to feelings.

Injunction

An equitable civil remedy in the form of a court order compelling a party to perform a specific action or prohibiting them from engaging in a particular conduct.

Mandatory Injunction

A court order requiring a party to carry out a specific positive act to rectify or prevent harm, such as publishing a public retraction or undertaking property repairs.

Restrictive Injunction

A court order prohibiting or restraining a party from doing a specific action, such as halting the publication of a defamatory book or stopping building demolition.

Interlocutory Injunction

A temporary or provisional injunction granted before or during a trial to maintain the status quo and prevent ongoing harm until a final court judgment is delivered.