The Role of the Courts in Law-Making Strengths and Weaknesses of Courts as a Law-Making Body

Learning Intention Success Criteria Strengths of courts as a law-making body Weaknesses of courts as a law-making body. Know at least 4 strengths and weaknesses Need to be able to evaluate ‘weigh up’ strengths with weaknesses to give a strong evaluation Use ‘however’ or ‘whereas’ Come to a conclusion Success Criteria

Can make laws quickly Courts can change the law quickly if a relevant case is brought before them. Not burdened by long parliamentary procedures Can only change the law if a case is before them The court requires a person with standing to bring the issue to court. Courts may also be bound by precedent

Independent Courts are not subject to political influence when making a decision Judges are independent and unbiased and not subject to the whims of the electorate However, as not elected, judges may not reflect current community values when making a decision.

Flexibility Courts can keep the law from becoming too rigid by distinguising, overruling or reversing precedent and may interpret statutes Can apply the laws of Parliament to the specific situation before them to ensure the law is relevant and justice has been served. May be bound by precedent or reluctant to change for the sake of consistency.

Consistency and Fairness Doctrine of Precedent allows for the law to be applied consistently when material facts are similar. Provides predictability, equality and fairness Courts make laws ex post facto. Judges make laws retrospectively or after the act has already occurred. This may be unfair if a person is found to have broken a law that didn’t exist at the time

Develop Areas of Law Courts can develop areas of law Negligence was established by the courts and developed further as the need arose. Courts do not have the resources to investigate whole areas of law as Parliament does. The courts are only able to deal with the area of law relevant to the case before them.

Conclusion Overall, while there are some weaknesses, the strengths outweigh them, making the courts an effective law-making body.

Evaluation of courts as law-makers Justice & Outcomes 13e ISBN 9780195594201 © Oxford University Press Australia, 2015