Basic Legal Concepts
This is a set of rules made by the government that everyone must follow.
What is a law?
These are the two main sources of law in Australia.
What are common law and statute law?
This divides power between making laws, enforcing laws, and judging laws.
What is the separation of powers?
These are the two broad types of law.
What are public law and private law?
What is a judge?
These are the three types of rules that guide behaviour in society.
What are customs, rules, and laws?
This group makes laws by debating and passing bills.
What is parliament?
This is a country’s right to govern itself without outside interference.
What is state sovereignty?
This type of public law deals with punishing people who break the law.
What is criminal law?
This group enforces the law and arrests people who break it.
Who are the police?
These three ideas are part of justice and help make sure people are treated fairly.
What are equality, fairness, and access?
This is a legal rule made in a past case that must be followed in later similar cases.
What is precedent?
This legal system is based on culture, kinship, and a connection to land.
What is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customary law?
This type of private law includes negligence and trespass.
What is tort law?
This place is where legal cases are heard and decided.
What is a court?
This means that people have the right to a fair hearing and an unbiased decision.
What is procedural fairness?
These courts deal with federal matters like immigration and taxation.
What are federal courts?
This court interprets the Constitution and decides on disputes involving it.
What is the High Court of Australia?
One of these legal systems is based on written codes; the other on court decisions.
What are civil law and common law?
This person gives evidence in a court case after seeing or knowing something about it.
What is a witness?
One of these means no government or laws; the other is when one person has all the power.
What are anarchy and tyranny?
This type of law is made by bodies like local councils under the authority of parliament.
What is delegated legislation?
These are two sources of international law used in global legal systems.
What are treaties and customary international law?
These are two people who take part in a criminal trial.
Who are the judge and the prosecutor?
If you don’t agree with a court’s decision, you can do this to ask for a review.
What is an appeal?