VCE Legal Studies Question Thread

[drmockingbird]

Anyone have a copy of the exam?

[clarke54321]

Could someone please explain the difference between the executive council and the cabinet?

[thaaanyan]

Could someone please explain the difference between the executive council and the cabinet?

CABINET = policy making body that decides what changes should be made to the law. Is made up of senior ministers and the prime minter at federal level (and the premier at state level).
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL = A body that exists at both the federal and the state level. The Governor/Governor General sits with some cabinet ministers to give approval to regulations recommended by statutory authorities and government departments as per the enabling act. They also have power to make orders in council for emergency legislation
Hope this clears things up!

[Abs_tastic]

- Caveat: am doing Law at university and have done a little bit of Constitutional law so what I say might be beyond Legal Studies but things to note:

1. Governor-General in theory heads executive branch but the PM/Premier does so in practice (as most Legal students would know)
2. s63 of the Constitution states that GG must act with the advise of the "Executive Council" and in practice Cabinet acts as the Executive Council - thus, by convention, this section is used to state that the GG must act in accordance to Cabinet not merely their executive power.
3. Executive Council and Cabinet, however, are not the same thing. Executive Council is broader, comprising of more members of the executive branch making administrative/executive decisions, such as regulations; whereas Cabinet (in most cases) only consists of government ministers.

** Interesting note: The Federal Cabinet is not mentioned at all in the Commonwealth Constitution and s63 is the only section which vaguely mentions the Cabinet (the exact words used is "GG in council" but these days, Cabinet, in practice, is taken as to mean the Executive Council.

[clarke54321]

CABINET = policy making body that decides what changes should be made to the law. Is made up of senior ministers and the prime minter at federal level (and the premier at state level).
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL = A body that exists at both the federal and the state level. The Governor/Governor General sits with some cabinet ministers to give approval to regulations recommended by statutory authorities and government departments as per the enabling act. They also have power to make orders in council for emergency legislation
Hope this clears things up!

Thank-you, however I am still unclear about the relationship between the two. Eg. is the cabinet formed within the executive council?

[clarke54321]

- Caveat: am doing Law at university and have done a little bit of Constitutional law so what I say might be beyond Legal Studies but things to note:

1. Governor-General in theory heads executive branch but the PM/Premier does so in practice (as most Legal students would know)
2. s63 of the Constitution states that GG must act with the advise of the "Executive Council" and in practice Cabinet acts as the Executive Council - thus, by convention, this section is used to state that the GG must act in accordance to Cabinet not merely their executive power.
3. Executive Council and Cabinet, however, are not the same thing. Executive Council is broader, comprising of more members of the executive branch making administrative/executive decisions, such as regulations; whereas Cabinet (in most cases) only consists of government ministers.

** Interesting note: The Federal Cabinet is not mentioned at all in the Commonwealth Constitution and s63 is the only section which vaguely mentions the Cabinet (the exact words used is "GG in council" but these days, Cabinet, in practice, is taken as to mean the Executive Council.

Thank-you. So does this mean that the Cabinet is formed within the Executive Council. And is the prime minister a part of both?

[Abs_tastic]

Thank-you. So does this mean that the Cabinet is formed within the Executive Council. And is the prime minister a part of both?

No they're separate organs but in practice, the "Governor-General acting in council (executive council)" means the GG acting within the Federal Cabinet.

[chasej]

I think your confusion comes from people discussing definitions (the 'end result') without explaining the foundations of why the definitions are so (the reasoning):

In the Australian constitution there are three sources or law making/enforcing powers, that is the judiciary (courts - interpret and have the final say on questions of law, that is how the law is applied), legislature (parliament, makes the law 'supreme law making power') and the executive (in theory headed by the Crown with the power vested in the governor-general but in practice vested in the queen, administers the law using some powers it has simply due to history [that is, powers the British monarch had and therefore is exercised by the executive and the crown's representative] and some granted by parliament).

In the constitution there is also a separation of powers, that is, the three powers are supposed to have a degree of separation from each other (for several reasons including acting as a check and balance on each other).

The cabinet is a part of the legislative power, that is, the cabinet is made up of the prime minister and the senior ministers in parliament. The cabinet is responsible for most of the legislation brought to parliament, that is because the cabinet determines the party policies that would be pushed in parliament. The cabinet is not in the constitution, but is rather something that has developed in practice due to the way party politics works in Australia.

The executive council, is made up of the governor-general (representing the Crown) as well as the prime-minister and senior ministers. The executive council is responsible for administering the law, that is it can make regulations under powers delegated to it by parliament (such as road rules). Each minister in the executive council is responsible for a different portfolio, that is an area of executive power which is exercised by a government department, for example a health minister would be in charge of medicare and minister for police would be in charge of the Australian Federal Police in the federal context. The executive council also has some other powers, such as having the final say on matters of war and peace. The executive council sits at the top of the executive power. The executive power includes, as other posters have mentioned, several law enforcing/making bodies, such as the police, as the police also 'administer' the law.

In essence, although the cabinet and executive council are made up of mostly the same people, both the entities have different purposes and roles in the Australian governance and and are a part of different powers granted in the Australian constitution.

[clarke54321]

I think your confusion comes from people discussing definitions (the 'end result') without explaining the foundations of why the definitions are so (the reasoning):

In the Australian constitution there are three sources or law making/enforcing powers, that is the judiciary (courts - interpret and have the final say on questions of law, that is how the law is applied), legislature (parliament, makes the law 'supreme law making power') and the executive (in theory headed by the Crown with the power vested in the governor-general but in practice vested in the queen, administers the law using some powers it has simply due to history [that is, powers the British monarch had and therefore is exercised by the executive and the crown's representative] and some granted by parliament).

In the constitution there is also a separation of powers, that is, the three powers are supposed to have a degree of separation from each other (for several reasons including acting as a check and balance on each other).

The cabinet is a part of the legislative power, that is, the cabinet is made up of the prime minister and the senior ministers in parliament. The cabinet is responsible for most of the legislation brought to parliament, that is because the cabinet determines the party policies that would be pushed in parliament. The cabinet is not in the constitution, but is rather something that has developed in practice due to the way party politics works in Australia.

The executive council, is made up of the governor-general (representing the Crown) as well as the prime-minister and senior ministers. The executive council is responsible for administering the law, that is it can make regulations under powers delegated to it by parliament (such as road rules). Each minister in the executive council is responsible for a different portfolio, that is an area of executive power which is exercised by a government department, for example a health minister would be in charge of medicare and minister for police would be in charge of the Australian Federal Police in the federal context. The executive council also has some other powers, such as having the final say on matters of war and peace. The executive council sits at the top of the executive power. The executive power includes, as other posters have mentioned, several law enforcing/making bodies, such as the police, as the police also 'administer' the law.

In essence, although the cabinet and executive council are made up of mostly the same people, both the entities have different purposes and roles in the Australian governance and and are a part of different powers granted in the Australian constitution.

Thank you very much for this post! 

[clarke54321]

Hi All,

For those who have used Justice & Outcomes for their legal 3/4 book, is it essential that I know everything in the 'going further' sections or is it just good background knowledge to have for sacs and the exam?

Thanks 

[chasej]

Hi All,

For those who have used Justice & Outcomes for their legal 3/4 book, is it essential that I know everything in the 'going further' sections or is it just good background knowledge to have for sacs and the exam?

Thanks 

no, you don't need to know 'going further', as the title suggests it is further information completely out of the study design. I just ignored it.

[upandgo]

hi guys!  i have 2 questions:

1) the governor can't withhold/reserve royal assent, but can he still send the Bill back to the house it originated from, and/or suggest amendments to the Bill?

2) If a question asked me to 'explain the role of both houses in State Parliament', could i just state that they perform roles similar to their counterparts at fed level, and briefly outline the roles? or would i have to provide more detail? 

[chasej]

2) If a question asked me to 'explain the role of both houses in State Parliament', could i just state that they perform roles similar to their counterparts at fed level, and briefly outline the roles? or would i have to provide more detail? 

Unless it's a compare or contrast with federal parliament question, I don't see how discussing or mentioning federal parliament helps.

Regarding how to explain the state houses if would depend on the amount of marks. If it was 2 or 3 marks you would just mention briefly how both debate/introduce legislation etc. with money bills reserved to the lower house and the upper house generally treated as a house of review. If it was 6 marks you would need a greater analysis of the make up of the houses, committees, where government is formed, how the upper house isn't always controlled by government etc.

Generally though a simple 'explain state parliament' would rarely be allocated more than 3 or 4 marks.

[upandgo]

Unless it's a compare or contrast with federal parliament question, I don't see how discussing or mentioning federal parliament helps.

Regarding how to explain the state houses if would depend on the amount of marks. If it was 2 or 3 marks you would just mention briefly how both debate/introduce legislation etc. with money bills reserved to the lower house and the upper house generally treated as a house of review. If it was 6 marks you would need a greater analysis of the make up of the houses, committees, where government is formed, how the upper house isn't always controlled by government etc.

Generally though a simple 'explain state parliament' would rarely be allocated more than 3 or 4 marks.

great! thanks 

[chasej]

great! thanks 

btw, I forgot to mention you should explain what parliament itself is and the nature of its power, (legislative power).