Act -
Law passed by parliament, known as a 'bill' before assent
by governor or governor-general.
Adjournment - When a case is put off to a later date.
Administrative
law - The rules governing decision-making by public
officials.
Admiralty - The law and court with jurisdiction over maritime affairs
in general.
Affidavit - A written declaration made under oath before a notary
public or other authorised officer.
Agent - An independent person or company with authority to act
on behalf of another.
Appellant - Person, person's organisation
or corporation that starts an appeal in a court.
Applicants, appellants, respondents,
defendants, etc., are generally called 'parties'.
Appellate
courts - Courts to which an appeal is made.
Applicant -
Person, person's organisation or corporation that starts
a case in a court. Applicants, appellants, respondents,
defendants, etc., are generally called 'parties'.
Bar - The
practicing members of the legal profession.
Barrister - A lawyer who presents cases in higher courts.
Case at
first instance - A case for which no precedent
is set.
Case law - The area of law developed by the courts while
hearing and determining disputes.
Civil law
- Laws regulating the behaviour of individuals;
a form of private law.
Common
law - Case law developed in common courts. This
term is sometimes used to describe all case law or judge-made
law.
Constitution - A set of rules or principles according to which a state
or other organisation is governed. A body of laws governing
those who make laws. The Australian Constitution is an
Act that sets out the structure of federal government
and the powers of federal parliament.
Counsel - A barrister.
Copyright - A right that gives the author of an artistic work, for
a limited period, the exclusive privilege of making copies
of the work and publishing and selling the copies.
Criminal law -
Laws concerned with both the rights of the individual
and of society as a whole.
Crown prosecutor - Legal representative of the Crown who institutes criminal
proceedings against the accused.
Custom - A long established tradition or usage that becomes
customary law if it is (a) consistently and regularly
observed and
(b) recognized by those states observing it as a practice
that they must follow.
Customary
law - The way people live and their rules including
ceremonies, songs, stories; a way of life governed by
a system of beliefs.
Damages - Compensation (usually money); most common outcome of
civil cases.
Defendant - Person brought to court and charged with a criminal
offence. Applicants, appellants,
respondents, defendants, etc., are generally called 'parties'.
Determination
of fact - The court's role to discover the truth.
Disclosure - Revealing all relevant information.
Discretion - The ability to choose whether to, or whether not to,
proceed with a decision.
Discretionary - When the decision is made on what seems fit for the
circumstances.
Dissent - To differ in opinion.
Equity - The body of rules applied to where there is no relief
under common law. equity: (From Latin æquitas:
'even' or 'fair.') Being just, impartial,
and fair. Justice applied in circumstances not covered
by rules of law.
estoppel - (From Old French estoupail:
'stopper' or 'bung.') Legal rule that
one cannot make an allegation or denial of fact that is
contrary to one's previous actions or words.
Extinguish - To wipe out, make non-existent.
Human rights - Basic rights intended to protect all people from cruel
and inhumane treatment, threats to their lives, and persecution.
Injunction - A court order making a person do, or refrain from doing,
something.
Intellectual
property - Abstract property, such as a manuscript
or computer software, over which the owner has legal
possession.
Interrogatories - A method of formal discovery wherein a lawyer serves
upon the other party's lawyer a written document consisting
of a set of questions. The party served must answer the
questions, under oath and in writing.
Judgment - An oral or written statement by a judge or judges, arbitrator
or arbitrators, of a court or tribunal as to a decision
reached in regard to a cause tried or argued before the
court or tribunal, setting out the law as applied in the
case and detailing the reasons upon which the decision
is based.
Judicial
discretion - The right of a judge to make a
choice, eg. in punishment.
Jurisdiction - The extent of legal authority or power.
Law - A rule established by authority, society, or custom.
Legislation - An act of parliament or piece of delegated legislation.
Mediation - (From Latin mediare:
'to be in the middle.') Bringing about a peaceful
settlement or compromise between parties to a dispute
through the benevolent intervention of an impartial third
party.
Natural
justice - Rules of fair play originally developed
in the common law courts.
Obiter
dictum - A judge's statement made during a judgment,
but not part of the reason for the decision.
Original
jurisdiction - The authority or legal power to
hear a case in the first instance.
Plaintiff - A party who initiates a civil action.
Precedents - Judgments quoted as an authority for deciding a similar
set of facts; must come from an equivalent or higher court.
precedent: (From Latin præcedens:
'going before in time').
Prima
facie case -
(Prima facie is Latin
for 'at first sight' or 'on first consideration.')
A showing of sufficient evidence to initially establish
a petitioner's case. If such a case is made out, the opposing
party is then required to respond; if not, the case will
be dismissed.
Procedural
fairness - The just administration of rules
that provide how parties go about enforcing their
legal rights.
Ratio
decidenti - The legal reasoning on which a judgment
is based.
Remedy - Redress; make up for a wrong.
Repeal - Cancellation of a statute or part of a statute or act.
Rites - Religious or solemn ceremonies that must be observed.
Rule of
law - The concept that everyone obeys the law;
no-one is above it.
Rules of
standing - Determining who is allowed to appear
before the court.
Separation
of powers doctrine - Division of the power among
legislative, executive and judicial arms of government
to provide for checks and balances.
Statutes - Acts of parliament.
Statutory
rule - The generic name for all types of delegated
legislation.
Subpoena - A subpoena compels the appearance of a person at a trial
to testify and to produce documents. A subpoena is a court
order, and if properly issued and disobeyed, the disobedient
person could be in contempt of court.
Summons - A document issued by a court directing a person to appear
before it.
Sunset
clause - A legal clause giving a final date after
which no remedy may be sought, regardless of the grounds
of complaint.
Terra
nullius - Empty land; land belonging to no-one.
Tort - A civil wrong where one person unreasonably interferes
with the rights of another.
Trial - Judicial examination and determination of issues between
parties with or without a jury.
Tribunal - A specialised adjudication body. The term is generally
used to refer to administrative dispute resolution bodies
other than courts.
Ultra
vires - Where a body has acted outside its law-making
powers.
Writ - A written court order to do or refrain from doing something.
