Prelim Legal Studies Notes

Resource Description

Prelim Legal Studies Notes by N.R

Basic legal concepts
• meaning of law
• customs, rules and law
• values and ethics
• characteristics of just laws
• nature of justice:
– equality
– fairness
– access
• procedural fairness (principles of natural justice)
• rule of law
• anarchy
• tyranny

define law:

a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior of society

distinguish between customs, rules, laws, values and ethics:

Law: a set of rules imposed on all members of a community, which are officially recognised by the community.

Rules: regulations that society should abide by, they can still be punishable if broken but not as severe as breaking a law.

Customs: established patterns of behaviour among people in a society or group.

Relationship between rules, customs and laws practice response:
Whenever people have lived together in groups, they have developed rules to govern their behaviour and thus maintain the smooth running of activities. These rules were based on the traditions, customs and values of the group. These rules have penalties attached if members
of the group fail to follow them. Groups usually put someone, or a small group, in charge to enforce these rules and the associated penalties this has then formed into laws. In modern times, this became the government.

Values:

Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable

Ethics:

Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity.

Laws
– Obeyed by all citizens of society
– Made by law-making body
– Enforced through courts
– Breach results in jail time, fines etc

 Rules
– To be obeyed by specific group in society
– Made by individual groups
– Enforced by leaders of group
– Consequences of breach is at the discretion of the group leader

Is there a difference between laws and rules?

The difference between laws and rules is vast, rules are regulations set by a certain group leader for a group of society to follow, if these rules are broken you can still be punished but not as harshly as breaking a law. For instance a rule is something such as a school implementing a dress code for the school. The group of society, who are students must abide by this rule if the rule is broken students are likely to be asked to change or receive a warning; this rule is set to ensure the school society are equal and the same. On the contrary a law is implemented and created by a lawmaking body such as parliament or judges (statute law and common law). These laws are regulated by authorities like the police and are officially recognised by society, an example of a law is to not discriminate against others in the workplace or school because of ethnicity or disabilities, this comes under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW). This law is set in place to ensure no body is discriminated against based on their appearance or cultural background, this means that a school principal can not discriminate against a child with a disability and must let them enrol.

Students learn to: Describe the characteristics of just laws and the nature of justice –

Just laws:

Just laws should be based on the notion of equality, these laws must be enforceable i.e. the police can enforce them, the laws must be acceptable to the majority ofcitizens, these laws must be discoverable meaning that members of the public need to have access to these laws and they must not be retrospective which means it can not take effect, in point of time, before it was passed by higher authority.

– Must be known to society
– How it affects society
– Utilitarian (useful)
– Your background → should not dictate
– Legal aid
– Information available
– Can not bring in a law but back date it