P r a c t i c e a n d

P r o c e d u r e
Te Queensland Courts website provides
information on the courts practice and procedure
as well as general information about the courts.
www.courts.qld.gov.au
Wa n t t o l e a r n m o r e ?
Why not book a tour for your school or community
group and see the court system frst hand?
Bookings may be made through the library website,
www.sclqld.org.au.
You can also contact the library on:
Phone: (07) 3247 4373
Fax: (07) 3247 9233
Email: schools@sclqld.org.au
Address: 4th Floor
Te Law Courts
304 George Street
Brisbane Qld 4000
Library
SCQ
S o H o w D o I F i n d t h e
L a w ?
Te quickest and easiest way to access legislation is
via the internet:
www.legislation.qld.gov.au for Queensland,
www.comlaw.gov.au for the Commonwealth and
the other States.
Many cases can also be found online.
Queensland cases can be found on the website of
the Supreme Court Library, www.sclqld.org.au.
Another good source for Australian case law is
www.austlii.edu.au which provides some decisions
of the High Court, Federal Court and State Courts.
Foreign decisions are available at www.bailii.org
and related sites. Te Supreme Court Library also
holds subscriptions to several databases providing
international legal materials which may be accessed
at the librarys computers.
Reading cases can be a daunting task. Tey may be
long and deal with complex areas of law. A useful
strategy when reading cases is frst to read the
headnote which will be found on the frst page of
the report. Tis headnote will categorise the legal
issues involved in the case and provide a summary
of the facts involved and the judges decision. Tis
may help determine how useful the case is for your
research. Te reports of cases are to be found on the
librarys shelves.
Getting Started
With Legal
Research
S u p r e m e C o u r t o f Q l d L i b r a r y
Library
SCQ
FOR SCHOOLS
Te doctrine of the separation of powers divides the institutions
of government into three branches: legislative, executive and
judicial. Te legislature or Parliament makes the laws, the
Executive puts the laws into efect and the Judiciary interprets
the laws. Te powers and functions of each are separate. No
single branch is able to exercise complete authority because
each is dependent on the others. However, the independence of
each branch helps keep the others from exceeding their power.
Tis ensures the Rule of Law and protects individual rights.
I n t r o d u c t i o n
Te Australian Constitution invests the
Commonwealth Parliament with the power
to make laws. Similarly, the Queensland
Constitution confers the power to make laws
on the State Parliament. However, that is not
the end of the story because the Constitutions
also vest in the Judiciary the power to
interpret those laws. Tis means that in order
to discover the practical efect of a law you
must investigate how the judiciary interprets
the law. Te Constitutions also empower the
judiciary to apply the common law.
U s e f u l B a c k g r o u n d
S o u r c e s o f L a w
Legislation is enacted by parliament in the
form of statutes called Acts. Te parliament
usually delegates its power to make
Regulations, more detailed rules relating
to these Acts, to the Executive branch of
government.
Cases decided by the judiciary also form part
of the law. Tese cases may interpret the Acts
of the parliament. Tey may also apply the
common law which has not been enacted by
parliament but is established by tradition. Te
judiciary must follow precedents determined
in cases decided by higher courts.
Indicates the fow of cases on appeal
Indicates a separation between state/territory and federal jurisdiction
High Court of Australia
Full Court of
Federal Court
Full Court/Court of
Appeal of Supreme
Courts
Full Court of Family
Court
Federal Court
Territory Supreme
Courts
State Supreme
Courts
Family Court of
Australia (Except
WA)
State District/County
Courts
WA Family Court
All Other States
Federal Magistrates Court Territory Magistrates
Courts (incl. Coroners
and Childrens Courts)
Federal Tribunals
Territory Tribunals
State Magistrates Courts
(may exercise federal family laws)
Coroners Courts (some
independent)
Childrens
Courts
Electronic
Courts
State Tribunals
Federal Territory
State
G e t t i n g S t a r t e d
Legal Research skills are the key to unlocking
the law. Here are a few tips to get started.
S e c o n d a r y S o u r c e s
When conducting legal research it is a good
idea to consult some secondary resources
such as textbooks and journal articles.
Although they are not a source of law,
textbooks are very useful for orienting
yourself in a particular area of law and for
pinpointing cases and legislation which
should be consulted. Textbooks may be found
by searching the library catalogue available
on the Supreme Court of Queensland Library
website, www.sclqld.org.au.
You can search for journal articles using
electronic databases available in the library.
Some of these databases are:
AGIS Plus Text
LexisNexis
Westlaw
CCH Online Legal Suite
Legal Trac
Tese databases enable you to search for
articles using key words and names. You can
then access relevant articles electronically
or on the library shelves and follow up the
references and citations made in the articles.
S e p a r a t i o n o f P o w e r s
A u s t r a l i a n C o u r t H i e r a r c h y