Introduction

            Historically, the Australian legal system is ultimately based on the common law that was acquired from England during the European settlement. It should be noted that the aspects of such an inheritance ultimately incorporates the judicial dependence, rule of law, and the culture of legalism, that is attaching significance to obligations and legal rights (Kennedy 9). On the other hand, it is obvious that the entire manifestation of legalism cannot be fully acknowledged by the citizens of other countries, or by the Australians themselves.

            This implies that for it to be beneficial, should incorporate positive features, including general societal acceptance of the importance of obeying the law, whether customary or modern, by both the government and citizens. The enforceability of the Australian judicial decisions is not perceived to be a bigger issue (Martin et al 129). The reason for that is because it has been realized Australians sometimes do not understand the seriousness of the court orders that are formulated in the process of administering civil or criminal justice. 

Analyze the components of the Australian legal systems, and elaborate on how these components intersect and interact and how lawyers use these systems (LO1)

            Using the Australian legal system, it becomes possible to treat everybody equally, whether domestic or international before the law as well as ensuring that there is no unfair judgment to the citizens by governmental officials. Furthermore, the Australian courts mainly used the adversarial system that originated from the English legal system. Such a system consists of two parties that represent their cases against each other, in which the third party known as the magistrate or judge who preside the case directly (Lee & Enid 20). In the adversarial system, the judge, or the magistrate is not required to directly handle the witnesses in any situation. The only thing that happens is that he or she only listens to the discussions of each side, make a cross-examination of the witnesses, and then comes with a logical decision of handling the case.

            Nonetheless, the foundation of the Australian legal system is its constitution. The reason for that is because such a constitution was mainly established the Australians who voted for its adoption. Although this legal system is aimed at setting out the initial laws of Australia, they can only be changed by referendum. Below are the main components of the Australian legal system with its branches.

                                                Federal courts

1. a) High court – being the highest court, its main responsibility entails dealing with issues related to the Australian constitution and appeals advanced from lower State or Federal courts.
2. b) Federal court – this two has an appellate division as well as other two divisions whose role entail listening to cases in the first instance. Usually, the appellate division takes the responsibility of hearing appeals from the lower division with initial jurisdiction. It also hears appeals from other State and Territorial courts in which Federal jurisdictions had originally been exercised by judges. The two sub-divisions are the Industrial Division and the General Division. The role played by the Industrial Division entail handling cases concerning federal industrial relations while the General Division handles cases dealing with taxation and bankruptcy.
3. c) Family court – this court mainly handles matters dealing with marriage, divorce, spouse, and child maintenance as well as child custody issues. A large percentage of the family court issues are solved through mediation and counseling services that are provided by the court (James 75).

                                                State and Territory courts

1. a) Inferior or lower courts – these courts mainly handles criminal and civil cases. In some states and territories, there exist two smaller courts in this category that purely deals with civil and criminal cases. To solve these issues, a magistrate is assisted by the jury.
2. b) Intermediate courts- presided over by judges, these courts have initial jurisdiction over criminal and civil matters. Juries sit on most of the criminal case until the defendant pleads guilty at the committal hearing. After this, he or she will show up at the intermediate court for sentencing (Grubbs 35).
3. c) Superior courts – these courts are always presided over by a judge by a jury who assists him or her to solve all criminal matters apart from the ones that requires the defendant to appear before the court for sentencing. On the other hand, the judge and jury or the judge alone takes the responsibility of handling civil cases (Heilbronn 351).

High court

            Table 1: The hierarchical arrangement of the Australian court system

Federal courts

Federal court

Family court

 

Superior courts

            (James 74)

State and Territory courts

 

 

 

 

(James 76)      

            From the perspectives of the above components, it implies that they all rely on statutory and common law. The reason for that is because these laws are formulated and implemented by parliament. In Australia, this law is perceived to be the parliament of a territory or States or Federal parliament. All statutory laws originate as bills before being passed houses of Australian parliament (Brassil 24). For instance, in case the two houses end up approving those bills, the in return becomes Acts. The State Governor for these Acts also has the responsibility of signing them become being considered legislation.

            Equally, with the Australian common legal system, legal actions do not only take into account dispute solving. The reason for that is because it also plays a role in fulfilling the important function of preventing disputes. The decisions that are made by its courts, particularly the appellate courts, entail creating binding precedents. Any party that can find themselves in legal actions knows the outcomes of any case in case they attend court proceedings as well as adjusting their differences (Grubbs 36).  This implies that Australian judicial decision is ultimately relied on the means of exercising the governmental power.

 

                                                           

 

 

 

                                                           

                                                           

                                                    Work cited

Brassil, Belinda. Excel Hsc Legal Studies: Your Step by Stp Guide to Hsc Success. Sydney, NSW: Pascal Press, 2000. Print.

Grubbs, Shelby R. International Civil Procedure. The Hague: Kluwer Law Internat, 2003. Print.

Heilbronn, Gary N. Introducing the Law. Sydney: CCH Australia, 2008. Print.

James, J. Business Law, Google eBook. John Wiley & Sons Press, 2012. Print

Kennedy, Rosemary. Allied Health Professionals and the Law. Annandale, NSW: Federation Press, 2008. Print.

Lee, H P, and Enid M. Campbell. The Australian Judiciary. Cambridge [U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Print.

Martin H, Daryle, R & Elliott J. Indigenous Australians and the Law.         Routledge Press, 2008. Print.