Court Hierarchy Essay – (Joyce Thiravium)

Resource Description

Question: Describe the jurisdiction of the varying levels and courts within the court hierarchy of Australia. With reference to contemporary cases and your knowledge of the legal system, comment of the effectiveness of the legal system.The court system in

Intro: Australia is what is known as a ‘common law’ system. In general, acommon law system has trial courts, courts in which cases can be heard on appeal, (‘appellate courts’) and a Supreme or High Court. The Court system has evolved into a hierarchy in order to enable appeals from various levels in the court system to more senior courts. Another function of the court hierarchy is that it enables an effective allocation of criminal and civil cases between the courts. The lower courts are involved in the day-today hearing of cases, such as minor criminal offences like shoplifting, disputes between neighbours, or drug possession. The higher courts generally hear matters of more importance or severity. The court hierarchy consists of 4 main levels; High court, supreme court, district court and local court, there is also a criminal court of appeal which is allowed for a second judgement for criminal cases.