Student sample for assessment
Written by a Year 10 student in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia.
The Australian legal system is structured around two distinct sources of law: legislation, which is law made by parliaments, and common law, which is law developed through court decisions over time. Legislation takes precedence over common law when the two conflict, but common law remains important in areas where parliament has not legislated. Australia also has a federal structure, which means that both the Commonwealth Parliament and state parliaments have the authority to make law, though the Commonwealth prevails in areas of conflict under section 109 of the Constitution. Australian courts operate in a hierarchy. At the base of the hierarchy are local and magistrates courts, which handle less serious criminal matters and civil disputes involving smaller amounts. Above these are the district or county courts, which deal with more serious criminal trials and civil matters. At the state level, the Supreme Court is the highest court within each state and can hear appeals from lower courts. At the federal level, the Federal Court and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia deal with matters of federal law. At the apex of the entire system sits the High Court of Australia, which is the final court of appeal and has the authority to interpret the Constitution. Law is made and applied through a process that involves the interplay of all three branches of government: the legislature makes law through Acts of Parliament, the executive administers and enforces it, and the judiciary interprets and applies it through the courts. The doctrine of the separation of powers is intended to ensure that no single branch holds all three functions, providing a check on the exercise of governmental power. When courts interpret legislation, their decisions become part of the body of common law and can themselves be interpreted by higher courts over time, in a process that means the law is always developing through application.