BLAW10001 Study Guide - Final Guide: Corporate Law, Client Confidentiality, Peer Pressure
BLAW CH 1 – ORGANISATION OF LAW AND GOVERNMENT IN AUSTRALIA
TYPES OF LAW:
NATURAL LAW
• Rules of conduct that accord with our realised experiences in the physical world
• E.g. natural responsibility for parents to look after their children
MORAL & RELIGIOUS LAW
• Rules of conduct that derive from belief systems, texts, oral traditions; rules that matter
to the conscious individual
• E.g. dietary rules prescribed by particular religions
CUSTOM
• Rules of conduct that have been long established & obeyed because of peer pressure or
due to convenience
• E.g. clothing styles associated with marriage (white dress)
NATIONAL LAW
• Rules of conduct the state recognises & enforces as law
LAW AS A REGULATOR OF BEHAVIOUR:
- Restricts the use of force by individuals
o Forbids unauthorised violence
- Prohibits and punishes undesirable behaviour
- Permits or rewards particular behaviour
o E.g. allowing the import of various goods into Australia
- Provide a creation of rights and duties enforceable by an individual in court w/o
resorting to violence
o Laws can provide remedies when rights are infringed or when duties are not
undertaken
LAW & ETHICS:
• Ethics – ideas of right and wrong conduct based upon the principle of avoiding
unjustified harm
• Ethics in law: as a lawyer representing an accountant: accurate audits, client
confidentiality
• voluntary Codes of Conduct: not enforceable like laws but provide the standard for
socially-acceptable behaviour
LEGAL DEFINITION DISTINCTIONS:
CATEGORIES OF LAW
• Grouping of particular related laws
• E.g. Contract law
LEGAL CONCEPTS
• Ideas that determine the nature of a particular category of law
• E.g. for otrat la, there is the legal oept of otrat foratio, osideratio
LEGAL PRINCIPLES
• Broad precepts that recognise & give effect to a particular point of view
• E.g. contract formation is partially based on the principle that a contract is only made if the parties
intend it to be legally binding
LEGAL RULES
• Provide the mechanisms in which legal principles are given effect
• E.g. many rules in contract law which specify different ways in which an agreement may be
reached
LEGAL MEANINGS
• Refer to the meaning/significance that words or phrases have
• E.g. party, osideratio hae speifi legal eaigs
LEGAL AUTHORITIES
• Sources of particular legal principles, rules or meanings
• E.g. a legal rule may originate from a decision of a court or an Act of Parliament
find more resources at oneclass.com
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BLAW CH 1 – ORGANISATION OF LAW AND GOVERNMENT IN AUSTRALIA
CATEGORIES OF LAW:
Jurisprudence
The science or philosophy of law
International law
Agreements (treaties) between sovereign states
National law
• Law applied within the borders of a sovereign state
• E.g. Australian law
National public law
Constitutional law
The organisation, powers & processes of govt.
Administrative law
Rules governing the processes of official decision making
Criminal law
State punishing behaviour considered socially harmful
National private law
Civil law
• Enforcement of private legal rights & duties between
individuals
• Is a broad category encompassing contract, & tort &
property law
Tort law
Liability for harm caused by one person to another/their
property
Contract law
Private agreements producing legally enforceable rights &
duties
Agency
The use of a representative to acquire/discharge legal rights
& duties
Consumer protection law
Legal protections for consumers
Corporations law
Administration of companies
Property law
Acquisition & transfer of private goods/land
Specialist categories of law
Business law
Rules relevant to business activities, taken from range of
law categories (e.g. contract & corporations law)
ROMAN VS. ENGLISH LAW:
‘OMAN CIVIL LAW
• Developed in 753BC w/ city-state Rome
• When Roman Empire expanded, law developed
• 533 AD → Eperor Justiia deided the ody of las alled a Digest
• Digest → Compendium of Civil Law
• Roman law important for legal developments w/ emergence of modern European
states
ENGLISH COMMON LAW
• Originates from 12th century
• England chose to develop its own laws (shunned Roman law)
• Empire expansion = spread of common law
• English legal foundations retained in Australia
TWO MAIN SOURCES OF AUSTRALIAN LAW:
• Case law (legal disputes)
• Legislation (Acts of Parliament)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
National law: rules of conduct that accord with our realised experiences in the physical world, rules of conduct that derive from belief systems, texts, oral traditions; rules that matter. E. g. natural responsibility for parents to look after their children to the conscious individual. E. g. dietary rules prescribed by particular religions: rules of conduct that have been long established & obeyed because of peer pressure or due to convenience. E. g. clothing styles associated with marriage (white dress: rules of conduct the state recognises & enforces as law. Restricts the use of force by individuals: forbids unauthorised violence. Permits or rewards particular behaviour: e. g. allowing the import of various goods into australia. Provide a creation of rights and duties enforceable by an individual in court w/o resorting to violence: laws can provide remedies when rights are infringed or when duties are not undertaken.
