Assess key features and doctrines of the Australian legal system in achieving justice. Key features and doctrines of the Australian legal system are the rule of law, procedural fairness and the court hierarchy which are all crucial to achieving justice. Justice is achieved when people are treated without bias, a case is handled just, and equal outcomes are achieved for both parties. The rule of law is treating all persons equally under the law in a society that is not run by any arbitrary power. Everyone is subject to the rules of law, including those in government and court positions; it is consistent throughout society and essential to achieving justice. An example of the rule of law being successfully applied to achieve justice in the …show more content…
Procedural fairness is an extremely important factor in achieving justice in the legal system. The importance of procedural fairness can be displayed through the case of Haneef v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2007) as there was a lack of procedural fairness applied, resulting in a lack of justice. Dr Haneef was suspected of terror related offences and subsequently held without charge for an excess of 12 days due to evidence linking him to a terrorist attack in Glasgow. This evidence was later proven incorrect. The links between Haneef and the suspected offences were not enough to go to trial. Dr Haneef was incarcerated for three weeks, two of which he was held in 23 hours isolation, after being wrongly convicted of a 'reckless association with terrorist groups.' His reputation was tainted and his VISA revoked, as well as his wife's without any reason for the cancellation. All of these actions during the investigation of Haneef show a lack of procedural fairness resulting in his unjust treatment. Justice was not achieved in the case of Haneef v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2007). This case reinforces the importance procedural fairness has in the legal system as it reflects the legal system not achieving justice when an individual is not treated with equal rights, opportunities and awareness of what is occurring. Therefore, the doctrine of procedural fairness is essential to achieving
The Mabo decision in 1992 was a landmark ruling that had profound implications for Indigenous land rights in Australia. This research investigation aims to delve into the impacts of the Mabo decision on the Australian political system, focusing on its recognition of Indigenous land rights, establishment of legal precedent, and constitutional implications. The Mabo case centered around Eddie Mabo and other Meriam people from the Torres Strait Islands who challenged the notion of terra nullius, arguing that their traditional land ownership rights predated British colonization. The plaintiffs sought recognition of their native title over their ancestral lands, challenging the legal fiction that Australia was uninhabited before British settlement. On the other side, the Queensland government defended its land tenure system based on British law and opposed the recognition of
Justice is the concept of moral rightness that is based on equality, access and fairness. This means that the law is applied equally, understood by all people and does not have a particularly harsh effect on an individual. In Australia, the adversary system is used as a means to achieve justice by proving the accused, beyond reasonable doubt, committed the crime. The criminal trial process has many features which aim to fulfill the requirements of achieving justice. These elements, though considers equality, fairness and access, are flawed in practice. Flaws such as the handling of evidence, jurors not understanding instructions, inadequate funds for legal
The Australian criminal justice system (CJS) is relatively effective in maintaining a balance of rights between victims, offenders, and society. As implied, the aim of the CJS is to provide justice. However, this can become an issue when attempting stretch it between multiple parties, due to the subjective nature of what is deemed ‘justice’. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the law, equality before the law, access to the law, enforceability of the law, protection of individual rights, resource efficiency and how the rights of individuals and society are balanced must be established.
Mason and McHugh argue against the support of free legal representation though do address the basis of the claim and how it appears fall under the ICCPR’s standards. by referring to paragraph Article 14 of the ICCPR states, ‘In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall
The criminal justice system within Australia is the means through which those who break rules stipulated within legislation and legal regulations are brought to justice in the form of punishment. The legal and non-legal measures implemented are applied across all aspects of crime. The legal measures include all institutions and processes enabled by law to deal with aspects of the criminal justice system. Non-legal measures include diversionary programs such as restorative justice. The use of non-legal measure in achieving justice is generally seen when dealing with young offenders. It is used in an attempt to allow the
Australia’s government design was taken from the British Westminster system after those who originally colonized Australia. A functional, western style democracy, there are a number of minor political parties operating in Australia but the country’s federal politics is an essential 2-party system at present, much like the United States (Our Country, 2015).
The Australian legal system founded as a part of the British colony system in Australia. Between the period of 1855 and 1890 British parliament abdicated from some parts of the Australian legal system which is implemented within British colonies in Australia. This approach introduced a “responsible government” which allowed to have own legal and law system within different British colonies to resolve legal issues separately.
1) Six principles of most judiciary systems, as defined or implied in a resolution adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, are: independence (i.e. freedom from other branches of government r other constraints), impartiality, sole rights of jurisdiction and jurisdictional purview (the courts decide what cases they will here, and what falls under their discretion), fair and equal access, confidential in its deliberations, and with direct authority and jurisdiction over accusations of judicial misconduct (i.e. self-policing) (UN, 1985). From these principles, it is easy to determine what two primary objectives of a judiciary might exist from a socio-legal perspective. Judiciaries serve to make sure laws created are fair to society, and that these laws are fairly, equally, and impartially applied to all within the laws' jurisdiction.
Often referred to as ‘natural justice’ Procedural Fairness lies at the core of the judicial system. It relates to the processes used by a decision maker, rather than the final outcome. It requires a fair method to which the decision maker arrives at their decision, regularly resulting in a fairer and just end result. A dominant principle of Procedural Fairness is the concept of fair treatment before the law. The doctrine of Procedural Fairness consists of the right of the accused to know the allegation put forth against them, the right of the defendant to have a hearing, the right for the court to be free from all bias and the right to test evidence in the case.
Rule of law refers to the societal agreement that no one is exempt from the law. The purpose of the rule of law to safeguard individual privacy against arbitrary government intrusion. This encompasses all government entities and agents, private citizens, and private entities, perhaps the best-meaning is no person is above the law; every person, from the most powerful public official down to the least powerful individual, is subject to the law and can be held accountable in court for his or her actions. The U.S. Constitution provides the means to preserve the rule of law, but not prevent legislators for enacting laws that are unfair to individuals. A good example of the principle of the rule of law an individual is accused of a crime. He or
The law is a system of rules that govern the people in the country or community making them responsible for their actions. Failure to oblige by these rules is punishable, and a penalty is always enforced on the people who do not obey the law. The law also consists of the procedures that should be followed for the people to live responsibly and also what should be done on those who do not follow the rules.
It can be seen that an overall regulation of the court personnel’s position as placed in local courts recognised itself as another unity observed in term of court structure. The very first person, as well as the most prominent position, the magistrate, who run a main role at the head of the court fundamentally arbitrated the important judgments in court proceedings. A court reporter with an important task of recording court proceedings was sitting away at the corner in right of the magistrate. Settled right next to the magistrate was the judge's associate, her duty is helping the magistrate with relevant evidences and important papers allowable in a courtroom. The court officer was placed under the magistrate who organised the court list, call witness and helped the people getting into the courtroom. Nearby in the left in front of the magistrate was the prosecutor who represented the police and next to him was a defence lawyer who represented the accused person. During the examination, the defendant and interpreter were sitting at the lower deck in the magistrate’s left hand and face directly to prosecutor.
What is the rule of law and what does it do for us? The rule of law is everyone has to follow the laws. Lloyd Duhaime says “ all are equal in eyes of the law.The rule of law protects us from each other.”Gray, Ritter says“Laws that protect us from discrimination because of our race, gender, age, and because of a disability.” No one has to obey the government but they do have to obey that law. West’s Encyclopedia of American Law says“No individual can be ordered by the government to pay civil damage. The rule of law means that everyone must follow the law, no matter who they are.
The rule of law is the absolute supremacy of the law over everybody in a political system. It is a system of laws under which the people and the government are bound. It is very imperative for every political system to have a system of law to regulate behavior, attitude, relationship, business and so on. For example we have vice law, which are laws targeted at regulating or prohibiting vice activities or businesses engaged in vice activities, such as gambling, prostitution,
The rule of law has two common basic concepts which are that everyone is both equal and subjective to the law. The Oxford Dictionary of Law defines the rule of law as the supremacy of law. Another definition of rule of law is given by Lisa Webley and Harriet Samuels which states that the rule of law is a theory or a doctrine that describes the extent to which certain features are present within a country. The significance of the rule of law is to ensure that every structure under the government and the government itself does not go beyond its limits. This doctrine does not provide room for bias or favouritism. Any government action that does not act in accordance with the doctrine is brought to the court. This means that government power is limited and it cannot act according to its wishes or personal interests.