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Common terms
Study the glossary below then complete the activities to test your knowledge of common terms.
Glossary of common terms
| Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
| Legislation/Acts or statutes | Laws made by both commonwealth and state parliaments |
| Common or case law | Laws made by judges in courts |
| Plaintiff | The person(s) taking legal action against another person(s) in civil cases |
| Prosecution | The lawyers presenting a case for the crown against a defendant in a criminal action |
| Defendant | The person(s) defending legal action against another party |
| Equity | Separate body of law which supplements the rules of common law based on fairness and justice |
| Doctrine of precedent | Decisions of a higher court are binding on lower courts in the same court hierarchy when judging similar cases |
| Ratio decidendi | The reason for the judge's decision |
| Binding precedent | A previous decision that must be followed |
| Persuasive precedent | A previous decision that influences future decisions but need not be followed outside the court hierarchy or from lower courts within the same hierarchy. |
Choose the correct definition. Click on the 'Check answer' button after you have answered each question. Click on 'Next' to proceed.
Study the glossary below then complete the activities to test your knowledge of common terms.
Glossary of common terms
| Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
| Legislation/Acts or statutes | Laws made by both commonwealth and state parliaments |
| Common or case law | Laws made by judges in courts |
| Plaintiff | The person(s) taking legal action against another person(s) in civil cases |
| Prosecution | The lawyers presenting a case for the crown against a defendant in a criminal action |
| Defendant | The person(s) defending legal action against another party |
| Equity | Separate body of law which supplements the rules of common law based on fairness and justice |
| Doctrine of precedent | Decisions of a higher court are binding on lower courts in the same court hierarchy when judging similar cases |
| Ratio decidendi | The reason for the judge's decision |
| Binding precedent | A previous decision that must be followed |
| Persuasive precedent | A previous decision that influences future decisions but need not be followed outside the court hierarchy or from lower courts within the same hierarchy. |
Activity 1
Choose the best answer.
What does the term ratio decidendi mean?
- A) Rational decisions
- B) Reasons behind judge's decisions
- C) Previous reasons for decisions
- D) A rational defendant
Answer: B) Reasons behind judge's decisions
What does the term plaintiff mean?
- A) The judge
- B) The lawyer presenting the case against a defendant in a criminal court
- C) The person taking legal action against another person(s) in civil actions
- D) The plain action of a court
Answer: C) The person taking legal action against another person(s) in civil actions
What does the term binding precedent mean?
- A) A previous decision that must be followed
- B) A decision that has been bound
- C) A tight predicament
- D) A previous decision that influences future decisions but need not be followed
Answer: A) A previous decision that must be followed
What does the term prosecution mean?
- A) Acts or laws of state or commonwealth parliaments
- B) To persecute someone through the law
- C) The lawyers presenting a case against a defendant in a criminal court
- D) The reason behind the court case
Answer: C) The lawyers presenting a case against a defendant in a criminal court
What does the term equity mean?
- Separate body of law which supplements the rules of common law based on fairness and justice
- Equal payment of court costs
- Fairness in the judge's eyes
- Equal chance to sit on a jury
Answer: A) Separate body of law which supplements the rules of common law based on fairness and justice
Activity 2
Read the following definitions, and provide the right term. Answers will be given at the end of each definition.
Definition: An Act or law made by both Commonwealth and state parliaments.
Term: legislation
Definition: Decisions of a higher court are binding on lower courts in the same court hierachy when judging similar cases.
Term: doctrine of precedent
Defintion: The person defending legal action against another party.
Term: defendant
Definition: Laws made by judges in court.
Term: common law
Definition: A previous decision that influences future decisions but need not be followed.
Term: persuasive precedent
Definition: Any proceeding in a court.
Term: legal action