ATAR Notes: Forum
VCE Stuff => VCE Business Studies => VCE Subjects + Help => VCE Legal Studies => Topic started by: onur369 on November 14, 2010, 07:08:44 pm
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Anyone? Got an exam in 8 days -.-
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Civil Law
• Protects the rights of individuals (e.g. right of peaceful enjoyment of land)
• Purpose: remedy - to restore the individual back into the position they were in before the incident occurred OR before the person’s rights were infringed.
• Examples of remedies:
Damages
- Compensatory
- Exemplary
- Nominal
- Special
- General
Injunctions
- Order of specific performance - to fulfill the contract
- Injunctions can be temporary/permanent
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the role of a formal court hierarchy in civil disputes:
The hierarchy allows the courts to specialise in their particular areas, and is more efficient as smaller cases are not held up behind long complicated ones. Matters can be appealed to higher courts when a party is unhappy with a decision. The operation of the doctrine of precedent means that decisions of higher courts are binding on courts lower in the same hierarchy. Precedents provide consistency with decisions as well as a guideline for judges in lower courts.
law-making through the courts:
Precedent
- Distinguish
- Overrule
- Reverse
- Disapprove
Statutory interpretation
Courts will need to interpret the law where the meaning of the law is unclear. The wording my be ambiguous, the meaning of words may have changed over time, or the legislation may be written in very general terms.
The statute may be outdated and inappropriate for the current dispute before the court.
I don't know what you're looking for in terms of notes for "Civil Law" - since there is a lot, but I hope this helps. =)
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Nice, do any of you have sources to extensive help on :
- Civil law and law-making through the courts
- Our civil laws (tort)
- Our civil laws (contract)
- Solving a civil dispute in the courts
- Alternatice dispute resolution and tribunals
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Tort is a civil wrong - breach of an individual’s rights.
Negligence - failure to take reasonable care
3 things must be proved:
- Duty of care was owed (neighbour principle)
- Duty of care was breached
- The breach of duty of care caused the harm (which was foreseeable)
Elements of a contract:
- The parties must have an intention to create legal relations at the time they entered into a contract.
- Offer: A written or oral statement or an act that indicates an offer is made.
- Invitation to treat: A price tag on goods which is not an offer to sell the goods at that price but an invitation to the public to make an offer for the goods.
- Counter-offer: A rejection of the original offer.
- Acceptance: A written or oral statement or an act that indicates acceptance of an offer.
- Consideration: Something of value must pass from each party to the other.
Capacity
A person who enters into a contract must be of age and of sound mind. That is, have the ability to enter a contract. For example, a person with a mental disability cannot enter a contract.
Minors
A minor (under the age of 18 years) is bound by a contract if the contract is for employment or necessaries (goods necessary for the life and requirements of the child, such as food and medicine). A court will, however, only enforce a contract with a child if it is for the minor’s benefit. A child would be expected to pay a reasonable price for necessaries. A minor is not bound by a contract for luxury items.
Consent
For a contract to be valid there has to be real consent between the parties, although in some instances the parties can choose to proceed with the contract if they wish.
Legality of purpose
A contract that is not within the law is not enforceable through the courts. For example, if you contracted to buy stolen goods the contract is not valid, and is therefore not enforceable.
Certainty of terms
In a valid contract, the terms of the contract must be clear and precise. The parties must be certain about what they are agreeing to under the contract.
Defences to breach of a contract:
- There is no valid contract
- There is no elements of contract
- All the conditions of the contract have been fulfilled
- A person lacks capacity to form a contract
- Consent was not freely given
- The contract was not legal
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ADRs:
Negotiation is the least formal ADR and can be used at any time. Negotiation is used to attempt to reach agreement about the dispute and negotiate a settlement. No independent third party is involved in the process and any negotiated settlement is not binding on the parties.
In mediation, a mediator is a third party who does not influence the outcome but assists discussion and helps the parties to explore and resolve the issues. Any agreement is non-binding and is not legally enforceable.
In conciliation, the conciliator exercises a greater influence over the outcome than does a mediator by making some suggestions on how the dispute could be resolved. Any agreement reached is non-binding - has no legal status.
Arbitration is the most formal ADR. The arbitrator listens to the facts and, if the parties fail to reach an agreement, makes a decision. The decision is binding on the parties hence legally enforceable.
Tribunals deal with disputes in a informal and generally inexpensive way because many of the intimidating rules of evidence and procedure are abandoned. Tribunals are usually quicker at dealing with disputes than courts, they take the pressure off the courts, and they can specialise in their particular field.
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Thanks alot dude, only if i knew how to give you karma!!!!!!!
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Thanks alot dude, only if i knew how to give you karma!!!!!!!
LOL you need 50 posts to give karma, but the thanks will do. =)
Best of luck with your exam!
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If you want some notes I made for Tort Law I have attached them.
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Don't forget the four Torts(Civil wrongs)
Neisance - It means that which causes offence, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public or private.
Pulblic refers to an act not warranted by law, or an omission to discharge a legal duty, which act or omission obstructs or causes inconvenience or damage to the public in the exercise of rights common to all His Majesty's subjects.
Private nuisance is the interference with the right of specific people. Nuisance is one of the oldest causes of action known to the common law, with cases framed in Nuisance going back almost to the beginning of recorded case law. Nuisance signifies that the "right of quiet enjoyment" is being disrupted to such a degree that a tort is being committed.
Defamation - Is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image.
Negligence[/u] - "Negligence" is not the same as "carelessness", because someone might be exercising as much care as they are capable of, yet still fall below the level of competence expected of them. It is the opposite of "diligence". It can be generally defined as conduct that is culpable because it falls short of what a reasonable person would do to protect another individual from foreseeable risks of harm. In the words of Lord Blackburn,
Trespass - Is divided to three ares, trespass to goods, trespass to land and trespass to the person. It's pretty straight forward as per the names.