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Sources of Contemporary Australian Law

The document outlines the origins of contemporary Australian law, highlighting the development of common law after the Norman invasion of England, where traveling judges established precedents for future cases. It also discusses the concept of equity, which supplements common law by addressing injustices based on fairness rather than strict precedent. Additionally, it contrasts the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of trial, noting their differing approaches to resolving legal conflicts.

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3 views2 pages

Sources of Contemporary Australian Law

The document outlines the origins of contemporary Australian law, highlighting the development of common law after the Norman invasion of England, where traveling judges established precedents for future cases. It also discusses the concept of equity, which supplements common law by addressing injustices based on fairness rather than strict precedent. Additionally, it contrasts the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of trial, noting their differing approaches to resolving legal conflicts.

Uploaded by

aniba.murshed07
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Legal Notes : Sources of Contemporary Law

MAIN IDEA / KEY CONCEPT NOTES:

2. Sources of contemporary - Outline the origin of common law


Australian law common law
After the Normans invaded England in the eleventh
● British Origins, including : century, they began developing a system of traveling
- Development of common judges who applied a common set of laws to all areas
law of England. These judges, also known as
magistrates, dealt with petitions from people who
felt that the local courts had been unjust. They used
the premise that similar cases should be treated in a
similar way.

The decisions of the judges provided the standards


or precedents for future cases and the law they
applied became the basis of the British Legal System.

By the Fifteenth Century the public were bringing in


petitions to the King claiming that the common law
courts had made unjust decisions. The chancellor
had to deal with these petitions so for many years the
- Equity, precedent Chancellor was a judge. Chancellor’s did not base
their judgments on precedent and form; instead
they were influenced by christian principles.

Equity became a body of law that supplements the


common law and corrects injustices by judging each
case on its merits and applying principles of fairness.
- This body of law crept into common law and
was set up to hear these petitions, became
known as equity.

As a court of equity, the court looked at the features


of each case to decide what was fair or just in the
particular circumstances.
The adversarial system is a system resolving legal
Adversarial system of trial conflicts- it relies on the skill of representatives for
each side (e.g defense and prosecution lawyers) who
present their cases to an impartial decision maker.

- The two sides involved in the case try to


prove their version of the facts and
disprove the other side's version. In theory,
the defendant in a criminal trial does not have
to prove anything as they are presumed
innocent until proven guilty. However, the
opposing side may try to oppose the other
sides argument and both sides have the right
to challenge each others arguments.

The inquisitorial system The court is actively involved in determining the way
in which the competing claims are presented. It is
different from an adversarial case, where the court is
required to act impartially, like a referee.

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