LAW

Law

Law

Question 1: Case Analysis

With regards to the judgments of Brennan J and Dawson J in Mabo v Queensland (No. 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, answers have been provided. Mabo v Queensland (No 1) was a significant court case decided in the High Court of Australia on 8 December 1988. It found that the Queensland Coast Islands Declaratory Act, which attempted to retrospectively abolish native title rights, was not valid according to the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

A. What role does Brennan J see for international law in shaping the development of the common law? Is this consistent with the history of the common law?

International law consists of international legal standards governing the laws of the States. International agreements and treaties, diplomatic notes, amendments and protocols are part of this branch of law. The rules pertaining to international law may be bilateral (between two parties) or multilateral (more than two parties). States often undertake to apply those standards in their own territory and with a higher status to national standards. The more remote history of an agreement under international law took place in 3,200 BC, when the Chaldean cities of Lagash and Umma agreed to the delimitation of its frontiers after a war . In general, international law has always been focused on the preservation of peace and prevents the outbreak of armed conflict. International law can be divided into public and private sectors. International law is the set of principles governing the legal relations between States. Individuals, therefore, are not subject to immediate their standards. Private international law, for its part, has as main objective the resolution of conflicts of jurisdiction. It defines what the applicable law and determine the legal status of foreigners. Another branch of international law is international humanitarian law. In this case, these are the rules which, in times of war, protect civilians who are not part of the conflict. International humanitarian law seeks to limit human suffering inherent in the fighting. Therefore, it can be concluded by saying that Brennan J see considers nternational law very important in shaping the development of the common law and this is also consistent with the history of the common law

b. ' … recognition by our common law of the rights and interests in land of the indigenous inhabitants of a settled colony would be precluded if the recognition were to fracture a skeletal principle of our legal system.' (Brennan J, 43)

What is the 'skeletal principle' to which Brennan J refers, and how does he use the concept of radical title to avoid fracturing it?

Public Law is a set of legal rules which the State is a party as her power and sovereignty and Private Law is a set of legal rules that are not party to the State as a sovereign and the Sultan. On this basis, the law year deals with two types of organization: the organization of the state itself of its authorities, the three: legislative, executive and judiciary, and regulate their relations in terms of the ...