The Australian Legal System
To what extent would you suggest the Australian legal system is based on fairness and justice? How is this reflected in the financial services industry? Are there any professional codes of practice that might suggest this theory?
The Australian legal system is based on the fundamental principle beliefs of procedural fairness and justice. “Procedural fairness is concerned with the procedures used by a decision-maker, rather than the actual outcome reached” (Ombudsman Western Australia, 2009). Justice can be defined as, “fairness in the way people are dealt with” (Moore, 2001, p. 598). The reasons supporting the argument that the Australian legal system is based on fairness and justice is the role of fairness and justice, influences on the Australian legal system, the financial services industry and professional codes of practice, and finally risk management in accordance with the principle beliefs of fairness and justice. All individual Australians and non-Australians are treated with fairness and justice in the eyes of the law and shields exist, to guarantee that individuals are not treated self-assertively or unjustifiably by governments or authorities.
The basis of the Australian legal system comes from the concept of the rule of law. The fundamental aspect of the rule of law is an integral part of the Australian legal system where, “everyone (both Australians and non-Australian) are treated alike and equal before the law” (Akpet, 2011). The rule of law has been put into place to ensure that there is no discrimination, the law should not be arbitrary, and to assure that it has been fairly enforced so that everyone should have fair access to an independent judicial system. The Australian legal system is based on principles and doctrines such as separation of powers, procedural fairness, and judicial precedent. The Australian legal system made up of statute law and judge-made law, reflect values that majority of society can uphold and execute efficiently and promptly. By continually striving to achieve the principles of fairness, justice and equality, this can be reflected and seen as the values and ethics society upholds. In the case R v Griffin 2007 ACTCA 6, “the respondent has been charged with attempted murder of his former girlfriends new partner, but evidence was crucial to his claim of self-defence had been lost by police before it could be tested by either party” (Australian National University, 2007). The prosecution did not argue the facts or the assessment set out by Crispin J, but simply his termination that the fairness of the trial had been permanently compromised. The Australian legal system has overtime been under the influence of other international legal systems.
The Australian legal system has had many influences from external international systems, thus based on a set of core principles and beliefs. Worldwide law is the term used