AOS 1 Characterisitics Of An Effective Law

Question 1

What criteria must laws meet to be effective?

HINT: There are 5

Answer 1

Known to the public, acceptable to the community, able to be enforced, stable and able to be changed

Question 2

Known to the public

Answer 2

For a law to be enforceable, the public must know about it. If people do not know about a new law, they will not be able to follow it.

Question 3

Acceptable to the community

Answer 3

If a law is not in line with community values, then people may be inclined to disregard the law. For example, prior to the law allowing 24-hour shopping seven days a week in Victoria, many stores opened illegally because consumers and store owners wanted extended shopping hours even though the law prohibited it. People had decided that restricted shopping hours were no longer acceptable to them. On the other hand, people accept the law that makes wearing seatbelts compulsory because they can see the value of wearing seatbelts.

Question 4

Able to be enforced

Answer 4

An effective law must be enforceable. That is, if people break the law, they must be able to be caught and brought to justice. If this does not happen, people may be less inclined to follow the law. In an effort to reduce the road toll, police have rigorously enforced road traffic laws in Victoria. Traffic enforcement strategies such as random breath testing and drug testing, the use of speed and red-light cameras and heavy penalties for infringements deter most drivers from breaking the law.

Question 5

Stable

Answer 5

In order to be effective, it is also necessary that the law, in general, remains stable. If the law were changing constantly, no-one would be certain what the law was and there would be chaos.

Question 6

Able to be changed

Answer 6

Because values in the community change over time, and there are advances in new technology, there is a constant need to change the law. For example, the widespread use of computers has required new laws relating to computers being used to steal another person’s identity for illegal gain.

Question 7

Why must laws be effective?

Answer 7

For society to function properly, laws must be effective. Criminal law must be able to protect individuals in society and punish those people who offend against society.