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Legal Studies explores the nature, function and influence of law and the legal system. Whether you realise it or not, you are exposed to rules and laws every day.  \nRules and laws  \nRules are a feature of all societies. Non-legal rules regulate or govern behaviour and procedures in families, schools, sporting clubs, religious groups and other institutions. The private group, or the individuals within the group, will create the rules so that members of the group can work, live or function together. A rule is enforceable by the group or individual who made the rule.  \nFor example, sporting clubs have rules about the game they are involved with. These rules will often be found in a rule book. There may also be rules for procedures about becoming a member of the club. Most families will have household rules. When you were younger, they probably applied to what constituted “good” and “bad” behaviour. The rules most likely now relate to who clears the table after dinner, what time you can stay out until at night and how much time will be spent on homework. Your parents usually make these rules and they are rarely written down. They apply only to members of your family. However, rules made by a family are usually binding on all members of the family and a parent will typically decide the consequence of breaking one of these rules.  \nA law is a legal rule. Like non-legal rules, laws regulate or govern behaviour and procedures. Laws are created by lawmaking bodies, such as courts and parliament, and are enforced by a court. They are usually referred to as laws and are recorded in written form. Unlike rules, they exist for the whole of society. For example, we have laws that make robbery an offence. This is an example of criminal law, which is an area of law concerned with behaviour that breaches existing laws and is harmful to the community’s welfare. According to criminal law, this type of behaviour requires the  \nimposition of a sanction. Other offences that are prohibited under criminal law include minor assaults, traffic infringements, murder, rape and theft.  \nLaws also protect the rights of individuals. For example, if a person does something that damages your reputation, then you can take legal action against that person. This is an example of civil law, which is an area of law dealing with the enforcement of individual’s rights, with the aim of returning the affected person back to their original position or compensating that person for their loss. Other infringements of people’s rights include breach of contract, negligence and trespass. The consequence of infringing another individual’s rights is a remedy. [Criminal and civil law will be explored in more detail later in Chapter 1 .]  \n1  \nChapter 1 page proofs: note there may be minor changes made to this chapter before going to print in November 2017  \nLegal studies from the ground up (1st ed)  \nLaws also exist that outline how other laws will be made, introduced and changed. For example, the Australian Constitution establishes the legislative or law-making powers of the federal and state governments. There are many other a","cbCaioSVpmEToB1V","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaioSVpmEToB1V","pdf",7189804,42,"English","# Chapter 1: Legal foundations\n## 1.1 Introduction to Legal Studies\n## 1.2 The role of individuals, laws and the legal system\n## 1.3 The principles of justice: fairness, equality and access\n## 1.4 Characteristics of an effective law\n## 1.5 Sources of law\n## 1.6 Relationship between parliament and the courts\n## 1.7 Types of law: criminal and civil\n## 1.8 Distinction and relationship: criminal vs civil\n## 1.9 Overview of the Victorian court hierarchy\n## 1.10 Reasons for the Victorian court hierarchy\n## 1.11 Multiple choice review questions\n## 1.12 Chapter crossword puzzle\n## 1.13 Chapter summary","[{\"question\":\"What is the key difference between non-legal rules and legal rules (laws)?\",\"answer\":\"Non-legal rules are made by private groups or individuals and bind only those within the group. Legal rules are made by law-making bodies, bind the whole of society, and are enforced by courts or enforcement agencies.\"},{\"question\":\"How do criminal law and civil law differ in their focus?\",\"answer\":\"Criminal law addresses behaviour that breaches existing laws and harms community welfare, leading to sanctions. Civil law deals with enforcement of individuals’ rights, aiming to restore the affected person or compensate for loss.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the Victorian court hierarchy section cover?\",\"answer\":\"It provides an overview of how the Victorian courts are arranged and explains the reasons for that hierarchy.\"}]","Chapter 1 - Legal Foundations - introduction to Legal Studies | PDF",1789905882,106]