澳大利亚法律系统结构
The Australian legal system is bad on a fundamental belief in the rule of law, justice and the independence of the judiciary. All people—Australians and non-Australians alike—are treated equally before the law and safeguards exist to ensure that people are not treated arbitrarily or unfairly by governments or officials.
做工作Principles such as procedural fairness, judicial precedent and the paration of powers are fundamental to Australia’s legal system.
牛蹄筋The common law system, as developed in the United Kingdom, forms the basis of Australian jurisprudence. It is distinct from the civil law systems that operate in Europe, South America and Japan, which are derived from Roman law. Other countries that employ variations of the common law system are the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia and India.
争权夺利The chief feature of the common law system is that judges’ decisions in pending cas are informed by the decisions of previously ttled cas.
The Australian Constitution of 1901 established a federal system of government, under which powers are distributed between the federal government and the states. It defined exclusive powers (investing the federal government with the exclusive power to make laws on matters such as trade and commerce, taxation, defence, external affairs, and immigration and citizenship) and concurrent powers (where both tiers of government are able to enact laws). The states and territories have independent legislative power in all matters not specifically assigned to the federal government. Where there is any inconsistency between federal and state or territory laws, federal laws prevail. Federal laws apply to the whole of Australia.
In effect, Australia has nine legal systems—the eight state and territory systems and one federal system. However, it is the state and territory criminal laws that mainly affect the day-to-day lives of most Australians.
Each of the federal and state systems incorporates three parate branches of government—legislative, executive and judicial. Parliaments make the laws, the executiv
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e government administers the laws, and the judiciary independently interprets and applies them.
The courts
The High Court of Australia interprets and applies the law of Australia, decides cas of special federal significance, including challenges to the constitutional validity of laws, and hears appeals (by special leave) from the federal, state and territory courts. The High Court has a Chief Justice and six other judges who can preside either individually or together. It is the highest court of appeal on all matters, whether decided in the federal or state jurisdictions.
The other federal courts are the Federal Court of Australia, the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia. Under the Constitution, state and territory courts may be invested with federal jurisdiction.
The Federal Court’s jurisdiction is broad, covering almost all civil matters arising under Au
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stralian federal law and some summary criminal matters. The court also has substantial and diver appellate jurisdiction, including over the decisions of single judges of the Federal Court and the Federal Magistrates Court (in non-family-law matters) and some decisions of the state and territory courts.
The Family Court is Australia’s superior court in family law. Through its specialist judges and staff, the court helps to resolve complex family disputes. It also covers specialid areas such as cas relating to the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions (which came into force in Australia in December 1998) and the international relocation of children by parents or guardians.
The Federal Magistrates Court was established by the federal parliament in 1999 and conducted its first sittings in July 2000. Its jurisdiction includes family law, bankruptcy, unlawful discrimination, consumer protection and trade practices, privacy, migration, copyright and industrial law. Nearly all of its jurisdiction is shared with the Family Court or the Federal Court.abcc词语大全
Australian state and territory courts have jurisdiction in all matters brought under state or territory laws. They also handle some matters arising under federal laws, where jurisdiction has been conferred by the federal parliament. State and territory courts deal with most criminal matters, whether arising under federal, state or territory law.耳朵冻了
Each state and territory court system operates independently. All states have supreme courts and some also have courts of criminal appeal, which are the highest appellate courts at the state level. Courts known as ‘district’ or ‘county’ courts hear the more rious cas, with a judge presiding over the court to interpret and determine the law. For more rious charges it is usual for a jury (usually of 12 people) to determine the guilt or innocence of defendants. Serious offences such as murder, rape and armed robbery are usually tried in a higher court.
