AC9HC9K03 Year 9 Humanities and Social Sciences

Content descriptor the key features and jurisdictions of Australia’s court system, and the operations of courts and tribunals

Elaborations

• • Elaboration locating information about the matters that some of the different courts and tribunals deal with and how they enact the law and resolve disputes, and developing a summary for a state jurisdiction and the federal jurisdiction; for example, the Magistrates Court is the first level of the court system and most criminal cases and civil actions commence at this court
• • Elaboration creating a visual representation of the Australian court system and each court’s jurisdiction and place in the relevant hierarchy; for example, The High Court is the highest court in Australia and decides cases of special federal significance, including challenges to the constitutional validity of laws, and hears appeals from federal, state and territory courts' decisions
• • Elaboration using sample cases to investigate the differences between civil and criminal law, and how the courts apply and interpret criminal laws and resolve civil disputes
• • Elaboration exploring how court judgements impact on the development of law; such as the role of statutory interpretation and the creation of precedent; for example, the decision in the Mabo Case (1992) overturned the legal concept of terra nullius and established the concept of native title