Classifi cation of LawPUBLIC LAW

Criminal Law

Administrative Law

Constitutional Law

Public Law refers to the “general standards of behaviour expected in society”

3 BRANCHES OF PUBLIC LAW

Laws (usually statute-based) restricting behaviours which “harm” all members of society

CRIMINAL LAW

Classifications Examples

Crimes against the state Terrorism; treason

Crimes against persons Murder; assault; rape

Economic crimes (“white collar”)

Tax evasion; fraud; computer hacking

Drug offences Possession (eg: of marijuana)

Driving offences Speeding; running red light

Public order offences Riot; public drunkenness

Crimes against property Theft; vandalism

Relating to operation of the government and its different departments

Eg: Education Act 1990 (NSW) Sets out the structure of the Board of Studies and

establishes the Board’s powers

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

Relating to:Division of Powers (Federal / State laws)Separation of Powers (Parliament,

Executive, Judicature)

High Court hears challengesACT marriage equalityMalaysia “solution”

Cases must be brought to the High Court’s attention (High Court cannot decide to investigate)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Classifi cation of LawPRIVATE LAW

Property Law

Contract Law

Tort Law (aka Civil Wrongs)

Private Law refers to the “legal relations between individuals and/or organisations”

Often referred to as “civil law”

3 BRANCHES OF PRIVATE LAW

Regulates the processes involved in buying or selling any items

Eg: Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW)

Both laws govern the behaviour of businesses involved in property transactions

PROPERTY LAW

Controls behaviour and protects individuals who have created a legally binding agreement with one another

Contracts can be written, verbal or implied, but valid contracts must have: An “invitation to treat” An “offer” Consideration (i.e. benefit to both parties) Acceptance

Both parties must enter a contract “in good faith” (i.e. with the intention to act fairly)

CONTRACT LAW

NOT criminal matters (even though many people think of them this way)

Involve incidents where one person has inconvenienced or breached the rights of another.

TORT LAW(CIVIL WRONGS)

Negligence Nuisance Trespass Defamati

on

Common tortKey concept is of ‘duty of care’Everyone has some legal responsibility to ensure that they do not cause harm to others or their property

Established through the case Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) [the snail in the bottle]

NEGLIGENCE

Do

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ue

v S

tev

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so

n

(19

32

)

Mrs Donoghue met a friend in a café; the friend bought drinks for them both – ginger beer.

The café owner poured some ginger beer into Donoghue’s glass; Donoghue drank this, then poured the rest of the bottle.

A half-rotted snail fell out of the bottle into the glass. Donoghue became physically ill as a result of this.

Donoghue launched legal action against Mr Stevenson, who made the ginger beer.

Because Donoghue did not buy the drink, the initial decision was that she had no contract (either with the café or the manufacturer) so could not sue.

Donoghue appealed, and the case was eventually heard in the British House of Lords

Do

no

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v S

tev

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so

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(19

32

) – FIN

AL D

EC

ISIO

N

The judge decided that individuals should be protected against products which are not of an appropriate standard (and should be able to seek remedy if they are harmed in this way).

The judge also decided that there was an implied contract between Stevenson and Donoghue – it was reasonable for Donoghue to expect that the drink she consumed would be safe, even though she did not purchase it herself.

Stevenson, the softdrink manufacturer, was proven to have a duty of care to produce a product that was safe to drink.

Involves one person interfering with the rights of another

Eg: a neighbour playing very loud music late at night (causing a nuisance)

Often heard in Community Justice Centres (not courts)

NUISANCE

Involves on person interfering with the property of another

Usually involves entering someone’s land without permission

Cal also involve trespass against the person (but this will usually fall under Criminal Law)

TRESPASS

Involves damaging another person’s reputation

Eg: publishing or broadcasting misleading information about a person AND this information damaging the reputation of that person

NOT defamation if:The information is trueThe person’s reputation is unharmed (i.e. people don’t think less of them because of the statement)

DEFAMATION