The Law Handbook 2024

10 Section 1: Understanding our laws and courts Victorian native title claimants, native title holders and Traditional Owners. Law reform There are many reasons why laws change. Usually a government decides to adopt a new policy or approach. Often the need for change is expressed and defined by law reform organisations, Royal Commissions and the many other bodies that play an active role in trying to improve society. The most formal mechanism for reviewing law is a law reform commission; these commissions report to governmentaboutlawsthatneedchangingorimproving. The Australian Law Reform Commission (www.alrc. gov.au) reports to theCommonwealthGovernment; the Victorian Law Reform Commission (www.lawreform. vic.gov.au) reports to the Victorian Government. The state and federal attorneys-general (government ministers responsible for the legal system) refer problem areas to law reform commissions for advice. These commissions are committed to a consultative approach to law reform, and they provide opportunities for the public to put forward their views about areas of the law. As well as these formal mechanisms for changing laws, community groups, activists, the business community, welfare organisations, trade unions and political lobby groups all campaign for reforms to laws that interest and affect them. Community legal centres are actively involved in law reform. Many groups are working to change all sorts of laws, including those relating to mandatory detention, terrorism, abortion, animal welfare, the environment, planning and civil liberty. The news media gives you an instant sample of what laws are under scrutiny at any given time. If you are concerned about a particular law, approach your local member of parliament. Finding the law Finding the relevant law is not easy, even for a lawyer, although the internet has made it easier. It is important to try to locate the most recent relevant law, as some areas of law change frequently. In searching for a law, be aware that there are two types of law: 1 parliament-made law (legislation); and 2 judge-made law (common law). What is parliament-made law (legislation)? The phrases ‘parliament-made law’, ‘statute law’, ‘legislation’ and ‘Acts’ also have the same meaning. You can tell whether an Act was made by the Commonwealth Government, as a reference to a Commonwealth Act has ‘(Cth)’ written after it. References to Victorian Acts have ‘(Vic)’ written after them. Acts and delegated legislation, such as regulations made under legislation by government, are printed in statute books. What is judge-made law (common law)? The phrases ‘judge-made law’, ‘case law’, ‘common law’ and ‘precedent’ have the same meaning. The body of decisions developed over hundreds of years by different judges is called the ‘common law’. It is basically the collected principles of law extracted from all the decisions handed down in the senior courts of Australia, England and other countries that share our type of legal system. These decisions are published in volumes of law reports. Finding and navigating Acts and other legislation An Act has a name and a date; for example, Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The name indicates the contents of the Act while the date specifies the year the Act was made in parliament (but not necessarily when it came into force; for this you might have to read the Act). Both pieces of information are needed to find an Act in a library, since Acts are organised alphabetically by year. Navigating an Act is easier if it has a contents list (with sections, divisions and parts, each with its own title). There is usually a glossary (or a dictionary) at the front or back of each Act that explains what is meant by some of the words used in the Act; these definitions are crucial to understanding the Act. Sometimes, at the end of an Act there are schedules, which may contain tables, forms, court documents, or various other pieces of information relating to the operation of the Act.