criminal and civil law.
yay. by eliza and olivia.
what's the difference between criminal and civil law?
it involves crimes against;
- the person
- property
- the community (the public)
- morality
- the legal system
- the state
it involves crimes against:
- contract law
- torts eg; negligence, trespass, nuisance and defamation
- the Constitution
- family law
- industrial law
- consumer protection law
what is civil law?
the doctrine of precedent:
the main way judges make laws is by setting a precedent in a case. a precedent is a legal principle that is developed by the courts. precedents can be found in the written decisions made by judges. so precedent means that similar cases should be decided in similar ways.
doctrine of precedent;
there are strict rules for how precedent works. this called the doctrine of precedent. all major cases in Australia are recorded. the law reports outline the facts of the case, the decision and the reason for the decision.
ratio decedend;
reason for the decision. this is the legal reasoning used by the judge to decide the case. other judges will use this in similar cases.
stare decisis;
means to stand by. this means the lower courts must follow the decision (ratio decedend) of the higher court in the same hierarchy in similar cases.
binding precedent;
a precedent must be followed by lower courts in similar cases. not all cases are binding as facts have to be similar.
persuasive precedent;
judgements made in a court at the same level are not binding but are highly persuasive. judgements made in other court systems are not binding but can persuade.