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Civics and Citizenship Term 4 (Law (Civil Law (Adversarial System (If the…
Civics and Citizenship Term 4
Key Concepts
Justice
The idea of justice differs from different societies and cultures
Forms of justice could be;
Payback
Fairness
Balance
The Westminster system
A system of government originating in the United Kingdom
Named after the area of London that the British parliament is located in
Has been used for a number of countries like Canada and New Zealand
Features include but are not limited to;
A lower house
Parliament members are elected by the people
A head of government
Such as a prime minster
Leads majority of representatives in the lower house
An independent judiciary
Made up of courts
Uphold rules of law
Participation
The way citizens contribute to their society
A verity of ways to participate
Jury Duty
Voting/Elections
Protesting
signing petitions
Contacting a local member of parliament
Becoming a member of parliament
Paying taxes
Deqmocratic values
Beliefs and ideals held by a democratic society
Respect
To treat others with consideration
To value some else views, beliefs and rights
Equality
Rights
Privileges
Without discrimination on;
Gender
Race
Religion
Age
Sexual Orientation
Level of education
Fairness
People are treated fairly
Without injustice
People are given equal opportunities
Also known as 'fair go' in Australia
Freedom
Rights
Privileges
Responsibilities
Without interference or control from other citizens or the government
Able to make our own choices
Where we live
Career/Job
Rights and Responsibilities
Entitlements and duties as citizens
Our rights ensure we have a say in the way our country is run
Our responsibilities ensure we make contributions to our society in order to keep going as a well balanced democracy
Our rights
The right to vote
Protection against acquisition of property on unjust terms
The right to trail by jury
The right to freedom of religion
Protection against discrimination
Our responsibilities
Voting in elections
Jury service
Paying taxes
Obeying the law
Democracy
A system of government
Run by the people for the people
Representatives make law on behalf of the people
Freedoms
Freedom of speech
Allows a person to voice their opinions about any topic as long as it is within the bounds of the law
The Australian Constitution doesn't protect freedom of speech
It is a privilege encouraged by the culture of society
There are laws in place to prevent this freedom from causing harm to others
Not allowed to spread lies that can damage someones reputation
Not allowed to spread hatred against other because of their religious, racial or cultural background
Speech, written, or artwork is considered expressing freedom of speech
Freedom of association
People are allowed to create or join any group or organisation as they wish
The main activity MUST be legal
A person can be a member of any political party, social club or workers union without fear of persecution
Not protected by the Australian Constitution
Is considered a basic right
Freedom of assembly
Lets people meet up in groups for social and political reasons
Any group of people can express their opinion
Can not turn violent or break any laws like trespassing
Allows people to protest freely
Freedom of religion
Multicultural society
Australia doesn't have an official religious
Free to practice whichever faith or no faith
The laws of religion doesn't overrule Australian laws
Freedom of movement
Citizens can freely travel around to all the states and territories in Australia
Can travel freely in and out of Australia
Must be an Australian citizen to earn the freedom
Bounds of the law
Freedom are limited by the bounds of the law
You cannot break the law to for fill a freedom
Law
Statutory Law
Laws that are made and passed by the parliament
Can be passed by both state parliament and federal parliament
If a state parliament passes a law it is only for that state
When federal parliament passes law it effect the whole country
Common Law
Is created by a judge when statutory law doesn't cover what is needed for the ruling of a case
Common law fills in gaps that Statutory Law left unclear
Passing a statutory law
Preparation of a Bill
Fist Reading
Second Reading Debate
Third Reading
The Senate
The Governor-General
The Governor-General reviews and approves the bill by giving the 'Royal Assent'
A Governor-General has never refused to assent a law
The bill goes through the three readings again
The bill gets passed back and forth from the upper and lower house until both agree to any changes in the bill or until the senate reject the bill completely
If the senate passes the bill it is passed to the Governor-General
A re-vote of the bill is done
If the majority of MP's pass the bill will go to the senate
The MP who introduced the draft Act explains why the Bill has been introduced
Other MP's ask questions, make suggestions for changes and debate on whether the bill is the right way to face the issue it aims to fix
Debates can get heated with MP's trying to prove their different opinions
MP's vote on the Bill and changes
Must pass to go onto third reading
The MP who wants to introduce the draft provides a copy of the draft Act to the other MP's
The MP's read the bill in their own time
Only the title of the draft Act is read
A member of parliament (MP for short) proposes the idea of introducing a new law or change a current one
A bill is a document which is prepared as a draft Act or law
Criminal Law
A group of laws that are put in place to protect people from harm
When one of these laws are broken it is called a crime
A serious crime is called an indictment offence
When a indictment offence is committed the person must go to trail in court and are punished quite severely
A less serious crime is called a summary or simple offence
When a simple offence is committed the person is normally quickly dealt with by the court or police
When someone is accused of a crime the court will consider if it is a guilty act or a guilty mind
A guilty act means the law was broken
A guilty mind means the person intended to brake the law
If a person from 9 and under commits a crime they are consider to young and don't have to go to court, yet people from 10-17 a person must go to the Children's Court of Western Australia
Going to court
Going to court for a crime is commonly known as a criminal trail or a hearing
The right to a fair trail
No matter who someone is or what they've been accused of you are always treated as innocent until proven otherwise
The accused must be given a chance to be represented by a legal professional (lawyer) in court
Everyone is treated as equal before courts and tribunals
No discrimination in anyway
An accused is also know as an defendant
The party trying to prove that the defendant is guilty is known as the prosecution
A prosecution is made out of legal professionals that work on behalf of that state
When a court case begins an accused can plead guilty or not guilty
If they plead not guilty the prosecution must use facts of the case and evidence to prove the defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt
The Jury System
Extremely serious cases are heard in front of a jury
A jury is 12-18 random people who are chosen to assist in deciding on the outcome of a trial
These citizens must not of previously heard about the case or know a person in the case as this can persuade their point of view
Once the selection of the jury for a trial is complete the jury will listen to the case
Once the case is over the jury must decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty
Punishment
If an accused is found guilty for a crime they are to be punished by the court
Punishments are to prevent the criminal from committing the crime again, to deter other people from committing the same crime and to show society that crime is unacceptable
Different crimes are given different punishments
It depends on how serious a cirme is
Civil Law
Protects individuals
Deals with disputes between individuals (plus corporations and government bodies) over an action that results in harm
Aims to right the wrongs done by paying for the victims loss
We have the right to expect others to be careful in matters that can effect us
Ex. if we a person is at a restaurant they have they right to expect that the restaurant is following safe food-handling procedures so that people don't become sick
When one party takes action against another they don't always go straight to court
Some party can negotiate on their own therefore not need a court case
Mediation
When an individual third party gets involved to solve the issue at hand
This method is only successful if both parties are willing to attend the mediation
A plaintiff is the person who takes a complaint to the court
The person being sued is know as the defendant
Adversarial System
The plaintiff must present a case that proves the defendant has caused harm to them
The defendant must present their case to the court aswell
Both sides present evidence and question witnesses in order to prove that their right
If the plaintiff wins they get civil remedy
Civil remedy is when the defendant must return the plaintiff to their original position before the dispute happened
Is normally money
Customary Law
Passed down by word of the mouth
Customary laws develop over generations
The Dreaming
The laws of Aboriginal people weren't created the same as Civil and Criminal laws
Their laws come from the dreaming
Other names include Creation time or Nyitting
At the center of many Aboriginals beliefs and cultures
Dreaming stories lay down the rules for people to live by
Social and moral
Served as lessons taught by the elders
These laws are more like guidelines than rules
Rules include what food could be eaten, how food should be shared, who a person could marry and what peoples roles in their community are
Instead of a government system traditionally Aboriginals took part in running their community
Elders
Very important role in keeping the peace and order
Elders are highly respected people of the community which had deep understanding and knowledge of tradition and law
When a problem or dispute occurred people will often take the issue to the elders for advice or a solution
Elders would sometimes have to punish a person for crime
Ex.
Shaming/public ridicule
Exclusion from the community
Physical punishment
Death, but this was only for the worst of crimes
Why do we need laws
So we can get along
Rules are there to guide society
They protect us from harming ourselfs or others
Let us live in peace
Settle and resolve disputes
Allow people to be punished for wrong actions
Protect our rights as citizens