Quick help on law questions (1 Viewer)

[just jessie]

ok, im not a law student, but im doing a course and in that course one of our modules is law.

We have our assignment, but the teacher is kind of all over the place and so are my notes lol

ok so if you could help me out with some of these questions that would be great, and try to explain them in simple terms cause i dont know all the law jargon. lol

how are conflicts between state and federal laws resolved? does this basically mean that federal overrides state and thats how they are resolved?

how are conflicts between statute and judge made law resolved? statute overrides judge made law???

what constitutes the federal parliament and state parliament? in my notes i have federal parliament: senate, house of representatives etc. is that what this question means?

and the federal system? i dont understand that at all.


if you could help me out i will be so greatful.

its kind of urgent though...

 

[Tom Ruprecht]

I can't actually answer your questions in depth for you here, because it will take a while.

The simple answers to your questions are actually in the Constitution.

how are conflicts between state and federal laws resolved? does this basically mean that federal overrides state and thats how they are resolved?

Federal laws override state laws insofar as it is within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth to make those laws. Commonwealth has jurisdiction in all matters that are listed under s51 of the Constitution.
Commonwealth can also make laws for states where states have referred power to the Commonwealth in an area that is traditionally under state jurisdiction. e.g. Commonwealth has corporations power and thus saw industrial relations as under its jurisdiction, whereas states have traditionally been in charge of IR and workplace relations, and are disputing the IR laws in the courts)

how are conflicts between statute and judge made law resolved? statute overrides judge made law???

Statutes override common law.

what constitutes the federal parliament and state parliament? in my notes i have federal parliament: senate, house of representatives etc. is that what this question means?

I don't know what this question means. It looks a little too easy, which means that there may be more to it.
Federal Parliament consists of elected representatives or MPs. The party with the most elected representatives form the government. The Ministers sit in Parliament. There a lower house and an upper house. With State Parliament, there's the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council in NSW. Both state and federal are bicameral...except maybe Queensland, which only has one house...unless I'm wrong...and hallucinating...but not insane, because who wants to live in a state that produced Joh Bjelke Peterson?

federal system?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism

 

[Frigid]

i agree with tom's answers above but i would like to add:-

1) s109 of the Constitutionhttp://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s109.html answers your first question.

i would also like to clarify that, while the Cth has power to legislate under all topics of s51http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s51.html, the States are not precluded from legislating on those topics. This is only subject to the express curtailments of State power, such as ss114http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s114.html and 115http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s115.html. Moreover, any State laws are subject to s109 above. Query also whether the Melb Corphttp://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1947/26.html doctrine applies.

2) Doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereigntyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_sovereignty. Of course, this is subject other constitutional checks and controls, and to the principle in the Communist Party Casehttp://www.austlii.edu.au//cgi-bin/disp.pl/au/cases/cth/HCA/1951/5.html.

 

[just jessie]

thanks heaps guys, but one more question.

The doctrine of precedent. i have in my notes that "decisions of a court bind all lower courts in the same jurisdriction"

just a bit confused about that one

 

[MoonlightSonata]

thanks heaps guys, but one more question.

The doctrine of precedent. i have in my notes that "decisions of a court bind all lower courts in the same jurisdriction"

just a bit confused about that one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precedent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stare_decisis