I have a few questions, so I thought I'd post them in one go. :p
- Explain how civil pre-trial procedures can both assist and limit the achievement of the timely resolution of disputes. Illustrate your answer with two examples.
- Explain how the legislative powers of the Commonwealth Parliament can be altered by High Court interpretation of the Constitution.
- Explain why the government must be both representative and responsible.
If anyone can answer any of the above questions, that would be much appreciated!
1) The overall aim of civil pre-trial procedures is to resolve some issues and clarify them so that time is saved in court. Also, pre-trial procedures promote out of court settlements which can speed up the process. However nifty lawyers (especialy big companies') often use them to slow down the process so that a financialy weaker party may be unable to continue with the suit.
Examples: Interogatories stage can clear up any questions that either party might have before the trial (thus saving time), however one party may flood the other party to stall the process.
I can't think of another one right now. Also, read up on something called the 'case list management system'- or something along those lines- aimed at streamlining this and avoiding delays.
2) When the high court declares legislation to be ultra vires it redifines to an extent that parliament's jurisdiction to not include that legislation or legislation simmilar to it... Franklin Dam would be a good case study for this (c'wlths power being extended, states power being narrowed).
^I think this is right, although I'm not 100 percent sure.
3) they have to be representative because their laws must be indicitive of the community's values and morals otherwise the parliament (and their laws) will lose the respect of the people, which could lead to disobediance (Penhaluriak's store hours law is an example of a law which was no longer representative). I can't remember the responsible bit very much. I can remember what it is, but that's all. Perhaps someone else can help out with this one.