2017 VCE Legal Studies - Exam Question Competition!

[Glasses]

Round 3 Question will be posted soon!!

[Glasses]

Ladies and Gentlemen we are back for Round 3!!

Round 3
QUESTION: 'Alfred and John are arguing over the powers of the Courts and the Commonwealth Parliament. Alfred believes that the Commonwealth is always able to override the decisions of the courts through the legislation it enacts. However, John believes this is not always case.' Which person, Alfred or John, is correct? Justify your answer. {4 marks}.

[Glasses]

ROUND 3 has been extended!!

[chantelle.salisbury]

ok i know i am late... but better late than never  (and i have only just seen it, like it, &wld luv some feedback) also was good reflection for me cos havnt looked at this AOS since i did it.
heres my 'round 1' answer

whilst much of the law making is done by the parliaments and courts, to a certain extent, individuals and groups can inflence a change in law through petitions and demonstrations.
petitions are a formal written request to the Parliament in relation to a particular law that is considered by a group to be out of date, which collects signatures to show support of the proposed change. they have to be addressed to a certain house of parliament, refer to matters within the Parliaments power, state the facts and clearly outline the action they wish to be taken with more than one signature.
demonstrations, on the other hand, are the gathering of persons (rather than signatures) attending a gathering, all in support of the changing of the law and wanting to influence the law. this done to alert the attention of the Government or other ministers to change the law.
petitions in comparision to demonstrations are very easy and can quickly gather alot of online support, this being a great advantage as the more support shown the more influence it has on the law. furthermore, petitions directly contact the Parliament and clearly outline the wanted action to be taken. however, whilst this is strength, Parliament gets alot of petitions are therefore arent able to respond to all of them.
although it depends on the issue wanting to be changed, petitions can be an effective way to influence the law as it is a direct way to contact the Parliament and have been successful as shown in oscar's law and cruelty to animals.

[chantelle.salisbury]

me again! this time the 'round 2'.... hmm... i think its a tad long but anyways....

Separation of powers ensure that no one law making body has complete control over the legal system, but rather are kept or held in check by each other. Where the judicial arm is vested in the courts and tribunals to apply the law and settle disputes. The executive arm is vested through the Governor General and carried out by senior ministers with the power to administer the laws and manage business of the government, lastly the legislative arm vested within the Parliament with the power to make amend and initiate laws.
Whilst the theory is very sound, keeping balances in power to avoid corruption; there is slight overlap within the arms, in particular the legislative and executive. In practise there is an overlap because the Governor General is elected by the Queen to fulfil the power to administer laws and manage business of the government, however, they are elected on the advice or on behalf of the Prime Minister. The prime minister being primarily an important and crucial part of the legislative arm. This obviously overlaps in practise with the legislative arm which is vested in the Parliament which the Government, which the Prime Minister has dominance and majority over. Hence showing not complete separation of power between the two arms as it does in theory.
Similarly, the judiciary can be argued to have an overlap with the executive arm. This is as from the 7 justices, the Chief Justice is appointed by the Governor General on behalf of the Federal Government which is the executive and legislative arm of power. This therefore meaning in practise the three areas of power have a certain extent or degree on influence on eachother and therefore overlap. This is not fulfilling to the full extent the theory behind separation principles.
Whilst the separation of power in theory is a good way to protect our legal system from corruption and complete power, in particular each arm has a minimal overlap and impact on eachother.