Sources of Contemporary Australian Law

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to contemporary Australian law, focusing on common law and its applications.

Common Law

Law made by courts; historically, law common to England.

Statute Law

Law made by parliament.

Adversarial System

System of resolving legal conflicts through representatives of each side presenting their cases to an impartial decision maker.

Inquisitorial System

Legal system where the court is actively involved in conducting the trial and determining questions to ask.

Equity

Body of law that supplements common law, correcting injustices by judging cases on their merits and applying principles of fairness.

Precedent

Judgment that is authority for a legal principle, providing guidance for deciding similar cases.

Stare Decisis

Doctrine that a decision must be followed by lower courts; means 'the decision stands'.

Ratio Decidendi

The legal reason for a judge's decision.

Obiter Dicta

Comments from a judge that are not directly relevant to the case and therefore not legally binding.

Jurisdiction

The powers of a court, decided by geographic area, types of matters, and remedies available.

Defamation

Act of making statements that damage a person's reputation in the community.

Binding Precedent

Lower courts are bound to follow decisions of superior courts.

Persuasive Precedent

Decisions made in lower courts that can influence higher courts but are not binding.

Delegated Legislation

Legislation made by authorities other than parliament, which are delegated the power to do so by an Act of Parliament.

Bicameral

Containing two chambers or Houses of Parliament.

Bill

A drafted law that has not yet been passed by parliament.

Act of Parliament

Statute law resulting from a Bill successfully passing through parliament and gaining royal assent.

Referendum

Referral of a specific issue to the electorate for a vote.

Majority of States

In Australia, four out of six states must vote 'yes' for a referendum to succeed.

Customary Law

Principles and procedures developed through general usage according to the customs of a people.

Terra Nullius

Latin for 'land belonging to no-one', the legal concept that Australia was unoccupied at colonization.

The Dreaming

The source of Aboriginal peoples' customary law.