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CJ509 Unit Seven Assignment

 

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CJ509 Unit Seven Assignment

The Australian Judicial system

The Australian judicial system is made up of court systems that are made up of two arms which are Federal and State. In Australian judicial system, the courts that are found in each state are divided into levels which from the highest level are the Supreme Court, the Intermediate courts and the Lower level courts. The judicial system allows the decisions that are made at one level to be appealed at another level that is higher than the former level. This is only possible if it is done under certain rules. The other courts are found in the Federal territory which is the other arm of the Australian judicial system. The courts found in the Federal territories are the same with the courts that are in each state but the only difference is that the intermediate level court is not found in the Federal. The Federal courts are divided into two which are the Family court and the Federal Court. In the federal arm of the judicial system in Australia, specialised Federal tribunals are used and one of the examples of the tribunals is the Industrial Relations Commission.  The court that is above all the other courts in Australia is the High Court of Australia.

The lower courts in Australia are named according to the function they perform and according to the state they are found in. The family law cases and the minor civil cases are presided over by the magistrate and not the jury. Other cases like the minor criminal case, breaches of traffic and local council, and committal proceedings take place in the lower courts and they are presided over by the magistrate. The penalties that are imposed on the criminal cases in the lower courts are limited. An amount that is usually awarded in the civil cases is also limited in the lower courts.

The intermediate courts are higher than the Lower courts and their names also vary with the States. The cases that are dealt with in the intermediate courts are heard by a jury and a judge and they are serious criminal offenses.  The civil disputes that are dealt with in this court are more complex than the ones that are dealt with by the lower courts.

The other level of the courts in the Australian Judicial system is the Supreme courts which are higher than the other courts. Major civil cases and some criminal offences are dealt with in the Supreme Courts. A serious criminal court can be dealt with in the supreme courts and also it can be dealt with in the Intermediate court but it depends with various factors that are considered. The powers of the two courts as Abril et al, (2009), suggested, may at times overlap regarding serious criminal offences. The full supreme courts contains three judges who sit together to hear the cases. Cases of appeal from other courts are heard in the supreme courts by a single judge at first.

Trade Practices Acts is dealt with in the Federal court which deals with the Federal law. It also deals with the cases of bankruptcy. The appeals from the tribunals which are Federal and from the other two territories of the Federal tribunals are heard by the Federal court.  The family law matters are dealt with in the Federal family courts which are in Australia.  The highest court which is the High Court of Australia hears the appeals from the other courts and it also hears the constitutional disputes. Being the highest court in Australia, the decisions that are made in the court are final and cannot be appealed.

Application of criminal responsibility

In Australia, there is a requirement of natural justice which is the source of the standards of due process. The criminals receive a fair hearing which is procedural. Determination of a criminal responsibility in Australia is determined by two elements under Australian Law criminal responsibility. The elements are used to access if the person that is involved in the criminal offence is liable for the punishment. In criminal act, Mens Rea and Actus Reus are used in Australia in proving that a person is guilty of a criminal act. This must be proved in all the criminal cases before the offenders are convicted.

One of the possible elements that are used is the omission or the act that is constituted in the offence. The other element is whether the criminal act was done due to mental problems and if the person did the act intentionally or willingly. The last possible element that is considered is if there is any applicable defence that may be applied in the circumstances. The law of causation is used in Australia and the defendants are charged on fairness and justice. This ensures that the person who is found guilty was the one who caused the offence being charged.

In application of criminal responsibility in Australia, some Aboriginal customary law in the country are considered not to be lawful in the Australian law. The Aboriginal customary law in Australia used to decide criminal responsibility must be in one of the defences in the mainstream. The Aboriginal customary law contains defences.

The age that criminal responsibility is supposed to be applied in the Australian jurisdiction is between the age of ten years and fourteen years which is minimum. The children at this age are convicted if the prosecution proves that the child who is accused was able to distinguish between the wrong and the right. In Australia, the young offenders from the age of 14 to 17 and 18 are responsible and liable to the criminal acts they commit. The criminal actions liable to them are not the same as that of the adults convicted of the same acts.

 

Murder

Under the Australian law, the offence of murder receives a severe penalty than the other crimes. Intentional murder of a human being is treated as a big crime and the convicted person is given a life imprisonment which is mandatory in Australia if it is done intentionally.  The person convicted may not remain in prison for life but they may be released after the range of time that is set by the sentencing court. The Governor on being advised by the Attorney General makes the decision on whether the person is to be released and when they are supposed to be released.

All the people who commit murder are not treated in the same manner in Australia. There are some who are treated to life imprisonment and others to strict security life imprisonment depending on the culpability. For the strict security life imprisonment the minimum years that the person convicted is supposed to serve is 20 years but not more than 30 years. In life imprisonment the person is supposed to serve for a minimum of 15 year and not more than 19 years. The Prisoners Review Board consider the seriousness and the circumstances under which the crime was committed and determines if the person convicted for the crime is supposed to be released. A term of 15 years which is minimum and a life imprisonment is the lenient penalty that a person who commits the act of murder willingly can receive in Australia. For the general murder the minimum term is reduced to 7 years and life imprisonment.  In Australia, the police have been involved in the crime control methods where they help the government in reducing organized serious crimes by developing legislations which are innovative.

The person who commits the murder act is benefited by the approach that is used in Australia. For the people who commit the murder willingly, their sentence of life imprisonment and minimum years give them a chance to change from their behaviour. It makes them put efforts of changing if they do not want to remain in prison forever. The minimum years encourage the offender. The use of the crime control model helps the Australia to reduce the crimes that can be prevented in the country. New legislation methods are introdu

 

Reference

Abril, P. S. ; Olazábal, A. M.; Cava.  A. (2009), Defending Single Color Trademarks: A Lesson from the Australian Courts. Academic  journal. Vol. 37 Issue 3, p375-377, 3p

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