Discuss How The Present Australian System Of Law Originated Essay

Submitted By kawsarcharaf
Words: 1552
Pages: 7

Discuss how the present Australian system of law originated, and identify the essential features of this system Throughout legal studies, students covered Australian system of law, how it originated and the essential features of this system. Laws are defined as principles and regulations which a particular country or community are entitled to follow. In today’s modern world law regulates almost every aspect of our daily life. Law is created throughout parliament and is considered a dominant source where elected politicians make laws. Judges also make laws through their decisions in court cases. Local councils and public servants also play a major role in making and administering laws. A range of people such as the police administer and enforce laws. These various sources mentioned above fit together to create our legal system. If laws are broken in a particular state then the offender may be penalized according to the laws and rules set in that precise area. Every country or states have their own set of jurisdictions in which every citizen in the region is obliged to follow. In Australia, laws are created by the house of parliament which is then placed in the constitution. The constitution is a set of rules that may apply to a social club, a large-scale organisation or even a nation. 1 Legal processes and practices In Australia today, originated from England. In 1788 when the British came to Australia they brought with them common law, which is known as laws that applied in Britain. Australian laws have evolved from both common law and statue law. Common law refers to laws made by courts whereas statue law refers to laws made by parliament. Each colony had a governor appointed by British Parliament. These governors followed the British legal system and were not answerable to anyone within Australia.2The common wealth Parliament has a very similar structure due to the fact that it contains two houses which are the house of representative and the senate. The House of Representatives and the British House of Commons have a strong sense of resemblance as the members both represent communities with in the country. Whereas the Senate does not resemble the House of Lords, instead the senate represents each state and territory in an equal manner, regardless of the population, so that lower populated states or territories are not disadvantaged by the laws passed by the lower house. Each state has six senators appointed to represent them and each territory has two. Free settlers began to request their own government in the early 1800s. Due to this in 1850 the British parliament granted the state’s power for self-government. The legislative Assembly and the legislative council were established in 1855 as the two houses of parliament. In the ensuring years, other colonies followed, and established two houses of parliament. During this moment in time only men who owned estate were allowed to vote meanwhile the women and the unemployed men were not. After the formation of colonial government, the states came up with the idea of federating. This involved merging the colonies into a single nation3. On the 1st of January Australia became a federation and established a government that would represent the nation as a whole. The six states of Australia became state governments with their own parliamentary capabilities. The Australian Capital Territory became a self-governing area, but its legislative power still belonged to Australia parliament. Throughout 1911, the northern territory split from South Australia only to become self-governing, but its legislative powers also lie with the Australian parliament. International law is the set of rules generally regarded and accepted as binding in relations between states and between nations4.International law enables nations to participate in trade as well as commerce and provides mechanisms for the maintenance of security as well as peace and decrease the levels of conflict. The adoption of