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Glossary for Legal Studies stage 6 syllabus

©Board of Studies NSW (1999), Stage 6 syllabus Legal Studies.

View the general glossary of assessment terms that apply to all HSC subjects.

civil law
  1. law that regulates conduct between private individuals (eg negligence, defamation). Can be contrasted with the criminal law, which regulates behaviour between the State and the citizen (eg murder, theft)
  2. the law of the old Roman Empire and most continental European countries which have based their legal system on its rules. Can be contrasted with the common law
common law
  1. historically referring to the law common to all English people
  2. the law developed by the courts; the decisions of judges; precedent (as opposed to statutory law)
  3. the law laid down by the common law courts, that is, the King's (Queen's) Bench, Exchequer and Common Pleas in contrast to the Rules of Equity
constitution
 the fundamental rules that establish how a country is governed; typically establishing the role and powers of parliament, the executive and the judiciary. Constitutions can be written (eg USA), unwritten (eg UK) or a combination (eg Australia)
customary law
  1. laws based on traditions and customs; often in non- writing societies (domestic)
  2. a source of international law drawn from the common practices of governments which over a period of time become accepted as legally binding (international)
equity
  1. the body of law developed by the Court of Chancery (can be contrasted with the body of law developed by the common law courts, which it was designed to supplement)
  2. a principle of fairness
ethics
 a set of moral beliefs governing behaviour; there are various sets of ethics, many of which come from religions. A behaviour may be seen as 'legal' but not necessarily as 'ethical'. Conversely, a behaviour may be considered to be 'ethical' even though not' legal'
focus groups/ focus studies
 areas of content to be studied in depth study
framework
 a list of areas and themes from which the focus studies should be addressed
licence
 an authority to do something that would otherwise be wrongful or illegal. Some examples:
  1. discharge from prison prior to the completion of sentence under certain conditions
  2. the authority by the holder of a copyright to make copies of their work
  3. formal permission given to a person to engage in a particular occupation
  4. formal permission to enter onto land or into buildings which would otherwise be a trespass.
Licences are always revocable
nation-state
 term used in international law for a country
self-determination
  1. indigenous peoples deciding their own future within a country (domestic)
  2. the international law principle whereby a people will form their own independent country
state
  1. a country (sometimes known as a nation-state)
  2. the authority structure of a country (including the government, judiciary and legislature)
  3. a sub-division of a federated country (eg NSW, Victoria)
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