Part 1 law and society
Law and justice
• The essential influence of law o Concept of the rule of law
• A set of rules which embodies the following
• No one above the law e.g. bane Marama
• Independence of the judiciary
• The concept of a fair trial
• Individual rights to arrest and questioning procedures
• Provision of legal aid for those who can afford there own defence
• The right not to incriminate one self
• Right of the accused to provide a defence that is free from state interference
• The right of the accused to be informed of the alleged crime with which they are being charged
• E.g. Haiti (breakdown of rule of law) cause by earthquake resulting in death. Implications: disobedience of the law, quest for survival(food, water, shelter), law enforcement agencies become dysfunctional, blood shed and rape

• The definition of law has 2 common themes o Law is enforceable and it must be publicly known

• Today legal authorities of the government can be challenged through a number of mechanisms such as o Ombudsman o Administrative tribunal o Special inquiries such as ICAC o Privacy bodies

• Social, cultural, political and economic influence
• Social- a combination of cultural, moral and intellectual forces that affects the way you view society we live in and the law making process. Influenced by debates present in society e.g. female equality, aging labour forces
• Moral- laws influenced by ethics or morals held by majority or politicians themselves religious basis of law in history, law reform in areas of family law, influence laws based on morality( abortion)
• Political- refers to the views held by politicians and political parties on which laws need amendment.
• Cultural- law is a reflection of a particular society and how to do things. Usually influenced by religion and traditions. multicultural society, historical influence of law, different cultures bring different values to law
• Economical- influenced by big companies and economic players. E.g. ama (Australian medical association) pushed gov to retain laws so that they take out private health cover.

o Nature of law
• Development of law as the reflection of past and present society
• Inheritance of common law from Britain as Australia was there colony
• E.g. presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Laws are present to protect Australia’s multicultural society
• Legal personnel( people in court)
• Legal jargon which has also been inherited from Brittan
• There are federal and state courts in aus
• Dry country so there are periodic restrictions
• Greater acceptance of homosexuals and the law is more accommodating towards them

• The purpose of different types of laws
• Domestic laws o Only operates within the boundaries of the country or entity. E.g. native title act 1993, sex discrimination act 1967

• International laws o These laws that regulate the behaviour of nations toward each other e.g. croc, the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination

• Public and private law o Private law- is the law of contract or tort. Developed in response to private individual actions of domestic citizens that Is private law evolves from the interactions of private actions

o Public law- is constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law. Governs the conduct of gov law making and administrative institutions and providing guidelines to individuals about there behaviour

• Civil and criminal law o Civil- gives judges a more active role during the trial based on a detailed written code and applied by the judge

o Criminal- part of our public law involves prosecution by the state individual for the breeches of the peace. The prosecution has the burden of proof in criminal matters and must prove its case to the standard of beyond reasonable doubt