Glossary - C

Question 1

Cabinet (also Inner Ministry)

Answer 1

Cabinet is the executive body of government. It is a decision-making group consisting of the prime minister (or premier) and senior ministers (thus inner ministry). Cabinet meets frequently and is responsible for determining policy priorities, initiating executive legislation, coordinating administration and dealing with urgent or crisis matters. Cabinet is often referred to as the ‘engine room of the government’.

Question 2

Campaign

Answer 2

The period following the announcement of an election date, in which parliamentary candidates and parties seek to win voters’ support.

Question 3

Candidate

Answer 3

A person who stands for election to Parliament.

Question 4

Case Law

Answer 4

A word for the whole body of judge-made law. The entire collection of published legal decisions of the courts that form a large part of the legal rules operating in modern society.

Question 5

Case management

Answer 5

The supervision of the pre-trial stage of a civil trial by officers of the court to help ensure timely and cost-effective justice.

Question 6

Casting vote

Answer 6

A vote exercised by the speaker that decides a matter when votes are equally divided.

Question 7

Casual vacancy

Answer 7

A vacancy in parliamentary representation caused by the death or resignation of a member of parliament. In elections based on single member electorates, such as the House of Representatives, a casual vacancy generally will be filled by a by-election. In multi-member electorates, such as the Senate, this is not practical and the vacancy is filled by the nomination of a replacement member who holds office until the next general election.

Question 8

Caucus

Answer 8

A decision-making body in the political process. In Australia the term is used by the Labour party to describe a full meeting of its elected members of either the Commonwealth or a State Parliament. In the US it refers to a general assembly of members of a political party who are responsible for selecting candidates for a general election.

Question 9

Caveat emptor

Answer 9

This means ‘let the buyer beware’. It warns purchasers of goods that they should examine and check for themselves products that they intend to purchase as they may not be able to hold the vendors responsibilities for flaws in the goods.

Question 10

Censure motion

Answer 10

A parliamentary motion that is highly critical of a minister. Censure motions can be used to call for a ministers resignation on the basis of an alleged failure to meet required standards of probity and propriety. (See individual ministerial)

Question 11

Centralism/centralist

Answer 11

The tendency of central government (in Australia the Commonwealth) to increase its powers at the expense of regional governments (the states). Centralists prefer a political system where power is concentrated in the hands of a central government and may advocate the abolition of state governments.

Question 12

Certificate of readiness for trial

Answer 12

Final step in the pre-trial stage of a civil dispute in which the plaintiff and defendant confirm that they have followed all pre-trial procedures and have not been able to settle their differences and also state how long they expect the trial to last. The court then allocates a date for the trial.

Question 13

Challenge to a jury

Answer 13

The right of legal counsel in a jury trial to request that a juror be excused (removed from the jury). A challenge to a jury may be based on a claimed disqualification of a juror (or of a whole jury), for example because they may have a prejudice in hearing the case. These are challenges to the array and challenges for cause. A limited number of challenges are possible without specific reasons being given (peremptory challenge).

Question 14

Charge to a jury

Answer 14

The judge’s oral instructions to the jurors before the jury begins deliberations. The charge must accurately set out the law in question (both concerning the offence and the defences available to the accused) and summarise the arguments presented by the counsel.

Question 15

Checks and balances

Answer 15

A system of government where political power is divided between distinct and separate arms of government, for example the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The ‘check and balance’ provided by this division is intended to prevent the excessive concentration of political power in the hands of one person, group of people or single institution. (See separation of powers)

Question 16

Children’s Court

Answer 16

Name of the Western Australian Court with criminal jurisdiction for accused who were between 10 and 17 years of age at the time of an alleged offence. The Children’s Court also deals with child protection applications under civil law.

Question 17

Circumstantial evidence

Answer 17

Indirect evidence that may be accepted as proof in a legal case. For example while there may be no eyewitness to a crime, forensic evidence such as fingerprints or DNA may provide accepted circumstantial evidence.

Question 18

Citizenship

Answer 18

Legal membership of a country or ‘nation-state’. Citizens enjoy the rights conferred by the state including the right of protection and have responsibilities such as upholding the laws of the country. (See subject)

Question 19

Civil dispute

Answer 19

A legal dispute between two or more individuals in a community. An individual under the law maybe a person or an entity such as a company (also referred to as private disputes).

Question 20

Civil law

Answer 20

The body of law that regulates the ordinary private relationships in a community. Civil law provides for the adjudication of civil disputes by the civil courts.

Question 21

Civil law system

Answer 21

A legal system in which law is codified in a written collection of laws that must then be followed by judges. European countries such as France and Germany are examples of civil law systems. This contrasts with common law systems. (See common law)

Question 22

Civil proceedings

Answer 22

Legal actions brought to resolve a dispute between individuals covering such matters as recovery of debt, claims for damages for injury to persons or property, compensation for breach of contract.

Question 23

Class

Answer 23

Group of people with social characteristics in common. The most common use of the term is the division of society into social classes based on differences in occupation and status e.g. working class, middle class.

Question 24

Coalition

Answer 24

An alliance between two or more factions or parties in parliament. In Australia the Liberal Party and the National Party normally act as a coalition when they form a government.

Question 25

Coequal power

Answer 25

The term to describe the division of powers between the Houses of the Federal Parliament House of Representatives and the Senate. It means that the Houses have equal powers to initiate and pass legislation, with the exception that only the House of Representatives can initiate and amend money bills.

Question 26

Coercive federalism

Answer 26

A term used to describe an imbalance of power in a federal system, where the central authority effectively dominates the regional level of government. In Australia since WWII the Commonwealth has become financially dominant over the states and can direct spending programs of the states through the use of tide grants. This has been described as coercive federalism (See vertical fiscal imbalance).

Question 27

Committal mention

Answer 27

A hearing in the Magistrates Court in which a person accused of an indictable offence enters a plea and is committed for trial in a superior court.

Question 28

Committe (also parliamentary committee)

Answer 28

A small cross-party group of members of parliament that inquires into specified matters and reports back to the parliament. The roles of committees include the scrutiny of government activity (such as examining bills and public administration and expenditure), investigating policy issues and administering some of the functions of parliament. A committee has only those powers assigned to it by the parliament. (See a Select Committees, Standing Committee and Joint Committees, the Main Committee and the Committee of the Whole.)

Question 29

Committee of the Whole

Answer 29

Traditionally the term referred to the stage in the passage of a bill when all members of parliament consider bills in detail (see Committee stage). Committees of the Whole may be used for other purposes such as the examination of a Government’s expenditures.

Question 30

Consideration in detail stage

Answer 30

A stage in the passage of legislation where possible amendments to a bill are debated and decided. Sometimes called the Committee Stage.

Question 31

Common law

Answer 31

Law that is based on previous judgements of the courts. Common law exists in Britain and other common law countries like Australia. Once the main source of law and legal principle, it still provides a body of decisions for those areas of law not covered by the statute laws passed by parliaments. The core principle of common law is state decisis (to stand by what has been decided). Specifically the reasoned decisions of higher courts form binding precedents to be followed in the decisions of lower courts. Contrasts with the civil law systems of France and Germany where laws are set down in a written code.

Question 32

Common law right

Answer 32

Rights that flow from the legal traditions or conventions of the community and are recognised by the courts. They include the right to fair trial and to be considered innocent until proven guilty, as well as rights to free expression and free association. These rights exist until they are specifically overridden by a parliamentary statute.

Question 33

Community circle court

Answer 33

Courts that directly involve the community - specifically, family and members of a defined social group of which the defendant is a member - in setting the sanctions applied to an offender. Examples are the indigenous Courts in Australia and courts operating in the Maori community in New Zealand.

Question 34

Compulsory voting

Answer 34

A requirement that all individuals with a legal right to vote must register for the electoral role and attend a polling place to vote. Failure to vote without good cause usually incurs a fine. (See involuntary voting)

Question 35

Concurrent power

Answer 35

A power that can be exercised by by the Commonwealth and the states. They are set out in s51 of the Australian Constitution.

Question 36

Confederation

Answer 36

A group of independent nations who agreed to hand over some of their powers to a jointly controlled, central political body. The central authority has delegated powers to set or coordinate common policy in a number of areas. An example is the European Union which devices common policy o agriculture, currency and other areas for its members.

Question 37

Conscience vote (also free vote)

Answer 37

A vote in parliament where members are free to vote on their own judgement and are not bound by party policy. A conscience vote is most often allowed on matters that involve moral judgement or religious belief. Recent examples are the parliamentary debates on law concerning abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research.

Question 38

Conservatism

Answer 38

Conservative values stability and oppose social change. They believe that social cohesion is based on traditional institutions and values, and argue for limited government involvement in economic and social matters. The traditional institutions they seek to bolster include the family, organised religion, the monarchy and the capitalist economy. Conservatives emphasise the importance of values such as nationalism, loyalty and moral uprightness. They often seek to use the institutions of government to reinforce these institutions and values. Extreme or radical conservatives (reactionaries) seek to return the society to a ‘More perfect’ past age.

Question 39

Constituency

Answer 39

An electoral district (or electorate) containing electors who vote for a representative in an elected assembly.

Question 40

Constitution

Answer 40

The set of basic law by which a state or nation is governed. Constitutions may include such things as the principles, powers and processes of the political system (and sometimes the legal system). Constitutions may consist of one or a small number of dedicated special Acts (e.g. the ‘written constitutions’ of the USA and Australia) or of numerous individual statutes and unwritten conventions developed over time (e.g. the ‘unwritten constitutions’ of Great Britain and New Zealand).

Question 41

Constitutional Convention

Answer 41

A meeting called to write or modify a constitution. The Australian Constitution was drafted by a series of Constitutional Conventions in the 1890s. Over the past 30 years three major Conventions have been held to recommend constitutional amendments. The most recent example was the 1998 constitutional convention on the adoption of an Australian republic.

Question 42

Constitutional law

Answer 42

The body of legal proceedings made up of judgements on the interpretation of the constitution of the High Court. Also disputes concerning the Constitution.

Question 43

Constitutionalism

Answer 43

The belief that the powers of government should be limited and subject to the rule of law. Constitutionalism requires that the powers of the parliament must be set out in written or unwritten constitution. This rejection of arbitrary rule was a vital step in the development of modern democratic ideas.

Question 44

Contempt of Court

Answer 44

The deliberate disregard of an order of a court. Contempt may be punished by criminal sanctions.

Question 45

Contract law

Answer 45

Contracts are promises recognised by law as a duty and for which the law provides a remedy for a breach. Disputes concerning contracts make up contract law.

Question 46

Conciliation and mediation

Answer 46

Conciliation and mediation are the attempt by an independent third party (the conciliator) to help parties to a dispute reach a mutually acceptable settlement. It is different from arbitration because an arbitrator can impose a decision on the parties.

Question 47

Concurrent sentence

Answer 47

Where a criminal receives sentences for two or more separate crimes for which they have been found guilty, but the court allows some sentences to be served concurrently (at the same time).

Question 48

Convention of the Constitution

Answer 48

An unwritten practice concerning the powers, processes and procedures of a political system that has general acceptance and is consciously followed in a society’s political activity. Conventions are only as strong as the practical commitment to them as there are no legally binding penalties for breach of convention. The Australian political system makes use of many conventions, most importantly the Westminster conventions of responsible government.

Question 49

Convict

Answer 49

A term that can be used for any prisoner, but is specifically used to describe the prisoners transported to Australia by the British Government from 1788 to the end of conviction in Western Australia in the late 1860s.

Question 50

Conviction

Answer 50

The result of a criminal trial in which the accused has been found guilty of a crime.

Question 51

Cooperative federalism

Answer 51

Voluntary arrangements between the Commonwealth government and state governments to take common administrative or legislative action. This approach is claimed to be most typical of Commonwealth-state relations in the period from WWI to the 1950s but there are many recent examples covering areas as diverse as traffic rules, microeconomic deform and gun control.

Question 52

Coordinate federalism (also dual federalism)

Answer 52

Federal arrangement where the central (Commonwealth) and regional (state) levels of government act independently in their respective spheres. Claimed to be most typical of federal-state relations in the first two decades of federation.

Question 53

Corroboration

Answer 53

Evidence that confirms or reinforces the testimony of another witness or party in a trial.

Question 54

Costs

Answer 54

The expenses incurred in a legal action. N a civil case, the party found to be in the wrong is generally requires to pay the court costs and some part of the other costs (such as the layers fees) of the successful party.

Question 55

Council of Australian Governments (COAG)

Answer 55

A regular meeting of the state premiers, territory chief ministers and the prime minister, to negotiate policy issues that involve joint state and Commonwealth funding activity’. In the past it was called the Premier’s Conference.

Question 56

Counsel

Answer 56

A person’s legal representative in court such as a barrister or solicitor.

Question 57

Court of Disputed Returns

Answer 57

The court convened to hear disputes concerning the validity of an election result. For state elections a single Supreme Supreme Court Judge carries out this role.

Question 58

Court of First Instance

Answer 58

A court with original jurisdiction to hear a specific civil or criminal matter. For example the Supreme Court of Western Australia is the Court of First Instance to hear civil disputes with a value of over $750,000.

Question 59

Covering clauses

Answer 59

The initial part of an Act that sets out such things as definitions. The term is used to describe the provisions of Commonwealth of Australia Act that precede the constitution itself.

Question 60

Criminal law/dispute

Answer 60

Criminal laws deal with actions regarded as anti-social and dangerous to the community. Such actions are prohibited by statutes and prosecuted and punished by government. A criminal dispute is between society and the person accused of violating the criminal law.

Question 61

Criminal sanctions

Answer 61

The sentences applied by the courts to a person who has been found guilty of an offence. Sanctions include fines, community service orders and imprisonment. By applying criminal sanctions the law seeks retribution for the offence, the protection of society for the offender, deterrence of others from offending and the rehabilitation of the criminal so they will not re-offend.

Question 62

Crossbench

Answer 62

Seats in parliament between the benches (seats) occupied by the government and by the opposition. The cross benches are occupied by independents and members of minor parties.

Question 63

Crossing the floor

Answer 63

A government or opposition member crosses the floor when they vote against their own party in a parliamentary vote. (See partisan voting).

Question 64

Culture

Answer 64

The dominant set of social values in a society that a passed on from one generations to another.

Question 65

Cumulative sentence

Answer 65

This applies to the successive sanctions received by an accused who has been found guilty of more than one offence. For example, sentences of imprisonment of five years for burglary and three years for possession of stolen property accumulate to eight years in goal. (See concurrent sentence)

Question 66

Customary law

Answer 66

Traditional laws of a group or community that reflects the values of the group. Customary law is part of the oral tradition of the group and is enforced through traditional authority such as the power of elders or through shared community decisions.

Question 67

Customs and excise duties

Answer 67

Customs duties are taxes on the importation of goods. Excises are taxes on the manufacture or sale of goods and services within a country. The collection of customs and excise is an exclusive power of the Commonwealth under the Constitution.