SAC 7

Question 1

what do effective laws need to be

Answer 1

• known by the community
• easily understood
• able tot be changed
• acceptable to individuals within society
• enforceable

Question 2

reasons why law reform is necessary (list)

Answer 2

• changes in beliefs values and attitudes
• changes in social, economic and political conditions
• advances in technology
• greater need for protection of the community
• greater awareness of the need to protect rights
• greater need to provide improved access to the law
• encouraging changes in values of society
• greater need to clarify, simplify or expand unclear laws

Question 3

reasons why law reform is necessary: 1. changes in beliefs, values and attitudes

Answer 3

if law is to remain relevant and acceptable it much continue to change to reflect and keep up with the changes in society. whilst people in our community are generally law abiding they will be reluctant to believe in and obey laws that do not reflect their basic beliefs and standards. but sudden rapid changes to law which impose change before the community is ready may be met with resistance

Question 4

reasons why law reform is necessary: 2. changing in social, economic and political conditions

Answer 4

changing social conditions: population growth and longer lifespan means changes to health care and taxation, recent social changes that prompted law reform are increasing reported domestic violence and binge drinking
changing economic conditions: technology and globalisation issues including monitoring the buying and selling and production of goods and services across different areas economy e.g consumer protection in banking as online shopping increases.
changing political conditions: domestic and international circumstances or global events influence law reform e.g terrorism or refugees

Question 5

reasons why law reform is necessary: 3. advances in technology

Answer 5

laws need to be altered and updated to match sophisticated technology e.g controlling and regulating new inventions or reducing the likelihood of people being exploited such as cyber bulling laws, online scams, identity theft. technology allows more information to be shared requiring financial and medical privacy laws e.g Human Genome Project

Question 6

reasons why law reform is necessary: 4. greater need for protection of the community

Answer 6

law reform must continually occur to make sure individuals and different groups within our community are protected and safe. harm can be physical, emotional, economic or financial. certain people all require specific protection if they are unable to protect themselves e.g children or disabled people even animals and environment. e.g 2016 crimes amendment (carjacking and home invasion) Act Vic introduced these and penalties

Question 7

reasons why law reform is necessary: 5. greater awareness of the need to protect rights

Answer 7

change in laws to protect individuals from discrimination and allow equal opportunity. the laws make is unlawful to discriminate a person on a range of grounds such as age, gender, race etc. however this can be slow and controversial eg 2016 attempt to changed Equal opportunity act 2010 (vic) which would allow religious organisations to discriminate was defeated

Question 8

reasons why law reform is necessary: 6. greater need to provide improved access to law

Answer 8

as people become more educated about law and their rights the more likely they are to want to seek justice if they believe their rights have been infringed but taking a case to court can be expensive. so there has been law reform to assist people to seek a resolution e.g Courts and Sentencing legislation amendment act 2012 (vic) created Melbourne county Koori court

Question 9

reasons why law reform is necessary: 7. encouraging changes in societal values

Answer 9

sometimes law making change the law to encourage a change in society’s values. The charter of human rights and responsibilities act 2006 (vic) seeks to educate the community on rights and tolerance. states have changed attitudes to homosexuality and both state and commonwealth parliaments have also tried to change values and attitudes towards domestic violence

Question 10

reasons why law reform is necessary: 8. greater need to clarify, simplify or expand unclear law

Answer 10

for a law to be effective it must be easily understood by all members of the community. laws that are too complicated in the way they are written need to be simplified or rewritten in plain English to be more accessible. some laws also lack depth when they are written and require clarity

Question 11

individuals influencing law reform: petitions

Answer 11

a petition is a formal written request to the government to take some action of implement some law reform, most effective is a large number of people sign it. petitions can be in digital form or printed. they are important because in accordance with the principle of representative government aim to make laws that reflect the majority, traditionally parliaments on accept paper petitions. some have introduced reform to accept both e petitions and paper

Question 12

strengths and weaknesses of petitions

Answer 12

are relatively easy simple and inexpensive BUT some people are reluctant to share personal details
members of parliament are more likely to consider a reform that has strong support BUT they may overlook good ideas if the petition is the only pressure
petitions are more likely to be effective if there is alot of signatures BUT the influence of it depends on who and where its tabled

Question 13

individuals influencing law reform: demonstrations

Answer 13

occur when a group of people gather together to express their common concern of dissatisfaction with an existing law. it can be an effective way to alert the government to the need for law reform and can raise awareness for legislative change in the community. but the be effective they need to be large and attract positive media coverage e.g Australia Day = invasion day process 26th Jan

Question 14

strengths and weaknesses of demonstrations

Answer 14

can attack large numbers and free positive media attention BUT can be less effective and even decrease support if they cause public inconvenience of become violent
can gain support of members of parliament who want tp adopt a cause BUT can be difficult and time consuming to organise and depend on weather and location

Question 15

individuals influencing law reform: through the courts

Answer 15

individuals can be instrumental in bringing about a change in the law by taking a matter to court. although they mayn’t being trying to change the law, they just want to prove their case; if an unclear point of law is clarified or established in the process then their case played a part. if parliament has passed a law that is unclear or unfair the legislation can be challenged through the court system but, with the exception of the high court, there is always a chance parliament will override a court decision. but a courts power is limited to the cases they are deciding

Question 16

strengths and weaknesses of using the courts

Answer 16

challenging an exisiting law in a higher court can enable clarification BUT courts are limited in their ability to change the law
even if a court challenge is unsuccessful it may gain media coverage to increase awareness BUT individuals can be reluctant to challenge a case because it can be expensive and time consuming

Question 17

role of the media in law reform pt 1

Answer 17

media has a massive role in influencing changes in law. social media includes communication information using a huge range of internet tools applications and platforms and it has made a large change in the communication of information and rights. social media has the ability to create interest in and raise awareness of legal issues on a massive scale, through social media platforms, individuals, parliamentarians and pressure groups can communicate their opinions to a broader audience. images videos and live streaming of political events can be used to generate interest in certain areas.

Question 18

role of the media in law reform pt 2

Answer 18

social media also connects people around the world meaning it can inform a global audience about a range of legal issues and perceived injustice. this can provoke people to take action on global issues by influencing law reform at a local level e.g Youth Climate Change Coalition use social media to gain support for law reform. breaking news is also broadcast over social media and is used to inform people on a large scale

Question 19

role of media in law reform pt 3: traditional media

Answer 19

newspapers, television and radio. has the ability to examine, discuss and inform people about legal issues and possible changes in the law. many tv programs contain segments about the need for law reform and investigate problems to inform the public of injustice. But the problem is traditional media may not always present the information in an unbiased and independent manner depending on the vested political interest f the owners, they can manipulate information in an attempt to alter the communities perception

Question 20

The Victorian Law Reform Commission

Answer 20

members of parliament often lack time a resources to undergo a thorough investigation of an issue. in this situation parliaments prefer to pass the investigation to an independent law reform body such as the VLRC. the VLRC is Victorias leading independent law reform organisation which reviews, researches and makes recommendations to the parliament of Victoria about possible changes in Victorias laws

Question 21

roles of VLRC

Answer 21

monitors and coordinates law reform activity in Victoria and investigates and advises the vic gov on ways to improve victorian law. the victorian law reform commission act sets out VCLR specific roles:

1. inquiry: to examine and report on any proposal or matter referred to it
2. investigation: investigate relatively minor legal issues it believes are of general concern to the public and report back to AG with suggestions for law reform, in addition to main role of examining matter referred to them it can also examine minor issues without a reference provided they do not use too many resources
3. monitoring: monitor and coordinate law reform activity in Vic and in consultation with various groups the VCLR can suggest reforms to AG
4. education: to undertake educational programs and inform the community about its work, this is a responsibility the VCLR has to the people

Question 22

recent VLRC project

Answer 22

adoption laws: commenced inquiry into the laws after recommendation from attorney general that the adoption act 1984 (vic) should be updated and improved e.g the way a Childs identify were revealed

Question 23

ability of VLRC to influence law reform

Answer 23

as they work on request of government it means the government will be more likely to act on the suggested reform BUT it can only investigate issues referred to it or minor issues
it has the ability to measure community views by holding consultations BUT the parliament has no obligation to support the suggested reform
it can investigate comprehensively so government can initiate laws that cover the whole issue BUT this can be time consuming and costly
it is highly influential on vic parliament with all or some of its recommendations adopted 70% of cases

Question 24

royal commissions

Answer 24

a royal commission is the highest form of inquiry into matters of public concern and importance. royal commissions are given special investigatory powers including the power to summon people to attend hearings, give evidence under oath and be subject to cross-examination

Question 25

recent royal commission

Answer 25

commonwealth royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse 2013-17

Question 26

recent royal commission facts: scope of inquiry

Answer 26

letters patent jan 2013: limited to institutional accusations of child sexual abuse but broad enough that it could investigate any accusation against any institution.
scope of inquiry: (what should be done) better protect children, achieve best practice in reporting of and responding to reports, address impacts of past abuse and ensure justice

Question 27

ability of royal commissions to influence law reform

Answer 27

governments can use findings and recommendations of royal commissions justify the need to make changes in the law and government policy. they can raise community awareness and interest in an area and encourage communities to undertake initiative to change the law

Question 28

strengths and weaknesses of royal commissions

Answer 28

government may be more likely to listen because they ask for them BUT the can be used to avoid getting on with difficult legislation
can measure community views on areas BUT there is no obligation of government to introduce law reform

Question 29

ability of parliament to respond to the need for law reform: 1

Answer 29

parliament is an elected and supreme law making body: this means they can make and change any law within their jurisdiction and act responsibly and representative of the people BUT it cannot make laws ultra virus and their ability to respond to need for law reform may be restricted by finance or budget

Question 30

ability of parliament to respond to the need for law reform: 2

Answer 30

parliament can investigate the need for law reform: it can thoroughly investigate the need for a change in law including investigating or changing entire areas of law but the investigations into these areas can be very expensive and time consuming and parliament is not compelled to adopt any recommendations

Question 31

ability of parliament to respond to the need for law reform: 3

Answer 31

parliament can respond quickly: can respond to need for law reform quickly, compared to courts parliament can ask VLRC, established committees and royal commissions to thoroughly investigate need for change in law but sometimes the need for law reform occurs too rapidly and it can be difficult for parliament to keep up

Question 32

ability of the courts to respond to the need for law reform: 1

Answer 32

courts can make law where none exists and interpret legislation: if an individual person wants to try and influence a change in law by undertaking court action judges can make law where there is none but with the exception of high court rulings in constitutional matters parliament can always pass legislation to override court decisions

Question 33

ability of the courts to respond to the need for law reform: 2

Answer 33

judges make decisions without fearing loss of voter support: judges are politically independent and therefore more willing to make controversial decisions but they still have to wait for a case to come before them before making a ruling

Question 34

ability of the courts to respond to the need for law reform: 3

Answer 34

judges can declare legislation invalid if it was made ultra virus

Question 35

ability of the courts to respond to the need for law reform: 4

Answer 35

courts can highlight a problem and raise community awareness about the need for change: this can occur when a judge makes a ruling which then generates community controversy or highlights a problem that requires parliaments intervention

Question 36

recent royal commission facts: how inquiry was conducted

Answer 36

• private sessions
• public hearings (to uncover systemic issues and explore responses of the institutions
• policy and research
• 16,953 contacted in commission
• 63% male aged 52 at testimony and 10 at age of abuse

Question 37

recent royal commission facts: impacts on wellbeing

Answer 37

• over 90% impact on mental health
• over 60% difficulties in relationships
• 10.3% survivors this was the first time they spoke about it highlighting the importance
• 3,489 institutions accused