Doctrine of reception of English Law into Australia.
Australia today is a country that is equipped with a complete and effective legal system so as to provide fairness and justice to its people. But having an effective legal system did not come to the minds of the law makers overnight. In fact, the pain staking process of establishing Australia's legal system took over two centuries to date! The legal system has been expanding since the times when a much different system that was applied by the Aborigines before it was declared terra nullius to the time the Native Title Act was made and also to the severing of ties of Australia and UK by Australia Act 1986 both Commonwealth and Australia. Australia's legal system has been expanded, changed and modified in so many ways to have become the legal system it is now. One might wonder how did Australia today come about. Previously, England used to transport its prisoners to the American colonies. Sadly, the exiling of its prisoners into its American colonies did not stay for long as the American colonies began to have drastic changes from its American Revolution. It was necessary to look for another alternative to transport its prisoners. So Captain Cook was instructed in the 1770s to look and take possession of places that was f
Aboriginal land right claims went largely unrecognized but this slowly changed with the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act, 1976 (Cwlth). After this significant case it can be clearly seen that although the reception of English law was very well engrossed into Australian law but there was a departure from it to suit Australia's own differences such as the existence of its indigenous Aborigines. More recently, Aboriginal people can make claims in the National Native Title Tribunal using procedures in the Native Title Act, 1993. Although Australia's laws has been an adaptation from England's laws but the departure from it can be clearly noticed when the Australia Act 1986(Cth) & (UK) was enacted. This proved that Australia was acquired under the false belief that it was uninhabited land that belonged to no one and therefore applied the notion of 'terra nullius'. All colonial states were legislated and controlled in a rather different way if not similar from each other. As mentioned in the beginning Australian law was derived from the English law, mainly from its Westminster system. It seemed that the Aborigines were indiscriminately subjected and justice to them didn't seem possible but the case of Mabo v Queensland(1992) shed some light on this matter. Although not all states supported the federation due to its individual economic interest but in the end the Australian federation was successfully created due to the persuasion of the strong sense of nationhood. One was to ask for the native's agreement for its land and the other, to claim ownership by declaring it 'terra nullius' simply meaning no man's land or no inhabitants. The federation was fairly and justified as the power of nation was divided into central authority and states; and that the Commonwealth Parliament and State Parliaments has been set up with upper and lower houses (Victoria not included) so as ensure a balance of power between both houses. In its transitional period, the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 provided for the colonies to be able to legislate for themselves giving them a slight taste of independence though any legislation made would be considered void if found to be contradicting to British Acts which then the British parliament could overrule. ound to be suitable with two methods available. There has been slight confusion in the matters of whose power it is to legislate on Australia's affairs but this was considerably defined in Australian Courts Act 1828 stating that New South Wales and Tasmania (Van Diemen's land then) to apply the Law of England (as at 25 July 1828) but as for the other colonies, English law to have no application unless stated otherwise.
Common topics in this essay:
Title Act,
Australia Australia,
Acts British,
Mabo Queensland1992,
British Parliament,
,
Validity Act,
King George,
Captain Cook,
Statute Westminster,
english law,
legal system,
british parliament,
south wales,
native title,
australian law,
australia's legal,
australia act,
australia's legal system,
commonwealth australia,
title act,
native title act,
australia act 1986,
reception english law,
title act 1993,
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Acceptance Essays
