Branches of the Law 10PEF Legal Studies

Classifying laws Laws can generally be classified into 2 main types: PUBLIC LAW – Laws that govern (deal with) the relationship between individuals and the government; it includes criminal, constitutional and administrative law PRIVATE/CIVIL LAW – Laws that deal with the way individuals interact with one another and the behaviour of businesses. Civil law matters are launched by people/organisations who feel they have been wronged by the actions of other people/organisations. No criminal activity is involved, no there is no need to involve the police

Public Law: CRIMINAL LAW The purpose of criminal law is to protect the general public from harm When a person breaks a criminal law, there are considered to be harming all members of society There are 6 main forms of criminal activity: CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY WHITE COLLAR CRIME PUBLIC ORDER OFFENCES CRIMES AGAINST THE STATE (COUNTRY) TRAFFIC OFFENCES

Crimes against persons Crimes involving injury caused to another person Homicide (intentionally killing someone) Manslaughter (accidently killing someone or self-defence) Assault (threatening or causing injury to someone) Crimes against property Crimes that result in property being stolen or damaged Larceny (removing property without consent) Breaking and entering Robbery (using violence to take another person’s property) White-collar crime Crimes that are usually committed by professional people Typically do not involve violence or damage e.g. Computer hacking or tax evasion

Public order offences Crimes that disrupt the activities of our society Swearing in public or being drunk and disorderly Crimes against the state (country) Crimes that target the state or country Sedition (encouraging hatred of the state) Treason (where a person actively tries to bring about the collapse of a government or assists enemies of a country) Traffic Offences The most commonly committed offences in our society Driving without a seatbelt and running a red light Usually dealt with by issuing a fine, but more serious offences (like drink driving) result in going to court

Public Law: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW Constitutional law is the body of law that evolves from the constitution, defining the relationship between the various branches of government within the state Constitutions are special documents that are sets of rules outlining how a government is to be run The Australian Constitution is essentially a document outlining the powers of the Commonwealth and state governments; it also ensures that no one person or group can take control of Australia (this is known as the separation of powers) A government has the responsibility to follow the rules of the constitution; failure to do so may result in the government being dismissed from office Constitutional laws deal with matters of health, law and order, education, environment, foreign relations, international agreements, customs, quarantine, defence, etc.

Public Law: ADMINSTRATIVE LAW Administrative law deals with rules regulating the powers of government agencies and departments. When the government creates a new department, they have to give the department specific powers and roles, and they do this by making laws (laws made by parliament) e.g. Melbourne Water are regulated by the Water Industry Act 1994 and the Department of Education and Training are regulated by the Education Act 1958.

Private (Civil) Law: CONTRACT LAW A contract is a legally binding agreement between 2 parties The majority of private (civil) law cases involve contracts, where one party claims that the other party has not done what they agreed to in a contract

Private (Civil) Law: PROPERTY LAW Property is anything that can be bought or sold Property laws govern the way goods are to be purchased and the way people/organisations must behave in their property dealings with others

Private (Civil) Law: TORT LAW Torts are wrongful acts (relating to everyday people) They involve the actions of people that cause discomfort to others Tort law exists to help people people get compensation if they have been inconvenienced by others There are 4 types of torts: Negligence (When you do not fulfil a duty of care) Nuisance (when a person interferes with another person’s rights) Defamation (when a person’s actions/words damage another person’s reputation) Trespass (when property is interfered with)

FAMILY LAW Family law is the body of law that regulates marriage, divorce, custody, division of property, the relationship of parents with their kids and other family issues, like adoption In Australia, most family law is a federal issue and dealt with by the Family Court of Australia, and the specially trained judges Family law is constantly changing, because the attitudes and values of society are changing

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE Your task now is to complete the ‘Branches of the Law – Test Your Knowledge’ worksheet, which is available on Compass, as a Learning Task. Please TURN this in on Compass when you are done. Good luck!