Commerce Notes on Law

Reasons for Laws

The need for law
Society has a set of rules called laws where everyone in the community is required
to obey.
Anarchy
Confusion and chaos usually occurs if they were no laws
Roles of law
The law has three main roles
1. Protection-from the actions of others as well as our own behaviors
2. Freedom-to do many things by telling society what people can do
3. Resolving Disputes: In order to stop people taking the law into their own
hands.
Comparisons between school rules and law
Who creates them
School
Rules

Laws

School
Department of
Education(unde
r state
government)
Government
United Nations

How are they

enforced
Enforced by
principal,
staff and
teachers

Police

What happens if
broken
Warning
Detention
Suspension
Expulsion

Prison
Sentence
Fines
House Arrest
Community
Service

Methods for resolving Disputes

Police

If person under 18, commits an offence, such as offensive conduct or carrying

an offensive implement, they may be dealt with by a police officer issuing a
warning. The name of the child will be taken but incident wont be recorded in
childs criminal history.
A child may be given a formal caution by a senior police officer or a respected
member of the community such as an Aboriginal elder. Issues taken into
account when deciding whether to give a caution include the seriousness of

the offence, if violence was involved, the harm caused to the victim, the
nature of prior offences and the number of previous offences.
Community Conferencing

Viewed as being more severe than a caution but less severe than a court
conference.
Child must admit offence before attending
Aimed at drawing up a plan that is agreed to by all the participants.

Mediation and Conciliation

Mediation is where the people involved in a dispute meet with a neutral third party
a mediator who helps them to negotiate an agreement. This is normally some
form of compromise.
Conciliation is very similar to mediation except that the conciliator is usually much
more interventionist; that is, they will offer their opinions and views. Conciliation is
quite common in industrial disputes.
Tribunals
A tribunal is a government body with powers to settle disputes. Most tribunals use
mediation to settle a dispute.
Arbitration is similar to mediation in that a third person assists the parties to reach
their own solution. However, if the parties cannot reach an agreement, the
arbitrator decides for them. The arbitrators decision is binding, which means that
both parties must accept the decision.

Legal Capacity

Legal capacity refers to someones ability to do something in a legal sense.

Restrictions to a persons legal capacity occur because of:
Age
Mental State, or
The circumstances which an act took place
Important terms
o Age of majority-people become adults of 18, meaning they are dealt
with by the law as adults.
o Age of consent- No child under 10 y.o. can be found guilty of a criminal
offence. Between the ages of 14-18 years old may be held responsible
for criminal acts.