This tutorial is useful for students who have limited prior knowledge of Australian law. The tutorial introduces you to the fundamentals, principles and language of law.
It includes a glossary of common legal terms, language exercises and legal concept maps. The activities will assist you in becoming familiar with the language of the law.
Glossary of common terms
Study the glossary below then complete the activities to test your knowledge of common terms.
Terms
Definitions
Legislation/Acts or statutes
Laws made by both commonwealth and state parliaments
Common or case law
Laws made by judges in courts
Plaintiff
The person(s) taking legal action against another person(s) in civil cases
Prosecution
The lawyers presenting a case for the crown against a defendant in a criminal action
Defendant
The person(s) defending legal action against another party
Equity
Separate body of law which supplements the rules of common law based on fairness and justice
Doctrine of precedent
Decisions of a higher court are binding on lower courts in the same court hierarchy when judging similar cases
Ratio decidendi
The reason for the judge's decision
Binding precedent
A previous decision that must be followed
Persuasive precedent
A previous decision that influences future decisions but need not be followed outside the court hierarchy or from lower courts within the same hierarchy
Activity 1
Test your knowledge of the words explained on this page. For any questions that you answer incorrectly, revise the terms and their definitions.
Activity 2
Read the following definitions and select the correct terms that match them from the drop down menus.
