Areas of Law
Getting Started
Definitions
Using the internet find a definition for the following:
 Civil Law
 Codification
 Common law
 Concurrent powers
 Criminal law
 Duty of Care
 Ethics
Exclusive power
Family law
Referendum
Residual powers
Statute law
Classifying Laws
 Modern law can be classified into two main types:
 Public law – are laws that deal with the standard of
behaviour that society expects from its government and
people (and those who work within the government). This
includes criminal law as well as laws that relate to how
governments operate (constitutional and administrative
law)
 Private law – are laws that deal with the way individuals
interact with each other. This includes laws that regulate
the behaviour of people towards each other and the
behaviour of businesses. This law is commonly referred to
as Civil law .
Public Law : Criminal law
 Criminal law exists to protect the general public from
harm. When a person breaks a criminal law they are
considered to be harming all members of society. The
police on behalf of the Crown (government) investigate
the matter and bring the case against the accused.
 The prosecution presents the case to the court on behalf
of the Crown. It is the prosecution’s role to prove beyond
reasonable doubt that the accused person committed
the offence. If this is proven then a punishment will be
issued on behalf of all of society.
Crime: Activities
 Activity 1. Crime Statistics
Access the Bureau of Crime Statistics
www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/bocsar
a. Outline the trends in the statistics for murder, assault, motor
vehicle theft, and break and enter into a dwelling.
b. Are the trends similar to the perceptions of crime that seem
to be held by most people in our society? Why might this
be the case?
c. What are the crime ‘hotspots’ for break and enter into a
dwelling, assault and motor vehicle theft?
Crime: Activities
 Activity 2
1.
Complete the worksheet on “Six types of Crime”
Six Main Types of Criminal Activity
 Crime against persons
 Crimes against property
 White collar crimes
 Crimes against the state
 Public order offences
 Traffic offences
Crime against persons
 These are crimes involving injury caused to another
person. Such crimes include:
 Homicide – the intentional killing of another person
 Manslaughter – the accidental killing of another person or
killing another with a justifiable reason; e.g.. Self defence.
 Assault – causing or threatening to cause injury to another
person
Crimes against property
 These are crimes that result in property being stolen or
damaged. Offences in this category include:
 Larceny – removing another person’s property without that
person’s consent.
 Break and enter – a person illegally entering a building to
commit an offence
 Robbery – using violence or the threat of violence to take
another person’s property.
White collar crime
 These crimes are usually committed by professional
people and are not associated with violence or damage
to property. Typical white-collar crimes are tax evasion
and computer hacking.
Crimes against the state (Country)
 These include:
 Sedition – encouraging a hatred of the state
 Treason – a more serious offence than sedition, it is where
a person or organisation actively tries to bring about the
collapse of a government or assists the enemies of a
country.
Public order offences
 These are crimes that disrupt the activities of our society.
They include a wide variety of offences, such as swearing
in public, and being drunk and disorderly.
Traffic offences
 These are the most widely committed offences in our
society. They involve crimes such as driving without a seat
belt and running a red light. Most of these crimes are
dealt with at the scene with on the spot fines. More
serious offences are dealt with by the courts e.g. Drink
driving offences.
Crime: Activity 3
Your rights when arrested
The law society of NSW fast facts site at
www.lawsociety.com.au/page.asp?partid=6691
 Review the above site
 Outline your rights when arrested
Public Law: Constitutional and
Administrative law
 Constitutions are rules that set out what the government
can and cannot do! The Australian constitution was
ratified in 1901 and can only be modified by a
referendum.
 The Australian constitution does not list the rights of
citizens (except the right to movement) instead most of
our rights comes from common and statute laws.
 The constitution outlines the powers of the
Commonwealth and state governments.
The Division of power
Commonwealth
parliament
Division of
power
State
parliament
Constitution cont…..
 The constitution also details how power is to be divided
between the three branches of the Commonwealth
Government.
Residual powers
 At the time of Australia’s Federation in 1901, the state
parliaments held considerable powers , which they were
reluctant to give up. Therefore, the constitution grants
many powers to the states, particularly in the areas of
health, law and order, education and the environment.
These powers are known as residual powers.
The Separation of power
Separation
of power
The
executive
Prime Minister
and Cabinet
The
Legislature
The judiciary
Commonwealth
Parliament
The High
Court of
Australia
Exclusive powers
 The powers that were transferred from the states to the
Commonwealth Government are referred to as exclusive
powers. The most important of these powers are known
as external powers. These are powers that enable the
Commonwealth to deal with other nations. External
powers include customs and quarantine laws, foreign
relations with other nations , defence and , most
importantly, the right to enter into international
agreements with other nations, such as the United
Nations Convention on Rights of the Child.
Concurrent powers
 Some powers are shared between the states and
Commonwealth parliaments. These are known as
concurrent powers.
 When a conflict arises between the powers of the states
and the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth’s rights
take precedence; that is, they will be considered the
most important. An example of a concurrent power is law
enforcement of drug offences. State and federal forces
both deal with drug trafficking.
Important aspect of the Constitution
 One of the most important aspects of our constitution is
that it aims to ensure that no one person or group can
take control of Australia. Therefore, the constitution
separates powers between the three most important
groups in the ruling of Australia: the executive, the
legislature and the judiciary. By splitting the power
between these groups, each group can act as a check
and balance on the other groups.
Administrative laws
 Administrative laws deal with the rules regulating the
powers of government agencies and department. When
the government creates a department it is done so
through the making of a statute law. The law will outline
the role and powers of the department.
Private or Civil law
 Civil law governs the legal relations between individuals and
organisations. Civil law matters are launched by individuals
or organisations who feel that they have been wronged by
the actions of other individuals or organisations.
 There is no criminal activity involved nor are the police
involved in civil cases.
 In a civil law matter, the person or organisation bringing the
case is referred to as the plaintiff. They have the
responsibility of proving that the defendant (the person or
organisation they are accusing) has wronged them is some
way.
The Three main areas of Civil law
 Contract law
 Property law
 Tort law
Activity 4
 Complete work sheet on Civil law
Contract law
 A contract is a legally binding agreement between two
parties. The majority of civil law cases involves contracts:
that is, the plaintiff claims that the defendant has not
held up their part of the contract.
Property law
 Property is anything that can be brought or sold.
 Laws govern the way goods are to be purchased and
the way people or organisations must behave in their
property dealing with others.
Tort law
 Torts are civil wrongs. They involve the actions of people
that cause discomfort to others. Civil law exists to help
people receive compensation if they have been
inconvenienced by the actions of another person.
The Four types of Torts
 Negligence – a lack of duty of care
 Nuisance – when a person interferes with another
person’s rights
 Defamation – when one person’s reputation is damaged
by the actions of another
 Trespass – when property is interfered with
Case Study 1: The Snail in the bottle
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8367223.stm
Go to the above web site and answer the following
questions
① Why did May sue the ginger beer manufacturer?
② What do you think the term ‘buyer beware’ mean?
③ How did May’s case change the law of negligence?
Case Study 2: The Carbolic smoke
ball case
 Go to the web the BBC Business site below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8367223.stm
On the right side of the screen is a list of cases, click on the Carbolic
smoke ball case and answer the following questions
1)
Write a brief outline of the case.
2)
Identify the legal reason why the company did not believe it had
entered a contract with Mrs Carlill
3)
What legal precident did the case introduce ?
Family Law
 Is the body of laws that regulates marriage and divorce,
the relationship of parents with their children, and other
family issues, such as adoption. Family is one area of law
that has been greatly influenced by the moral and
ethical values of society. For this reason it is constantly
changing. As the attitudes and values of society change
so does the law. In Australia, most family law is a federal
issue and is dealt with, by the Family Court of Australia.
This court is staffed by specially staffed judges and deals
solely with family law. De facto relationships are dealt
with under state law.
Activity 5
 Research one of the following and present your findings
to the class as a radio (podcast) broardcast (interview).
a) Explain the role of the Family court in Australia
or
a) Explain how the law in relation to divorce has changed