There are two main types of law: public law and private law. Public law deals with government powers and obligations and includes criminal law, administrative law, and constitutional law. Private law regulates relationships between individuals and includes contract law, tort law, and property law. A landmark tort law case was Donoghue v Stevenson in 1932, which established that manufacturers have a duty of care toward consumers. Criminal cases involve a prosecutor and defendant, with the prosecutor bearing the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt. Civil cases involve disputes between plaintiffs and defendants, where plaintiffs must prove their case on the balance of probabilities. Various legal professionals play roles in court proceedings, such as judges, solicitors, barristers, and witnesses.

1. Classification of Law The different types of law systems

2. Public Law public law is the law which deals with the powers and obligations of governments and citizens there are three main types of public law they include: criminal law – body of rules under which certain acts are punished by the state administrative law – laws dealing with government powers/decisions constitutional law – rules governing the executive, judiciary and legislative functions

4. tort law – ‘Civil Wrongs, interfering with the right of someone else (Negligence, nuisance, trespassing, defamation

6. Criminal Court Procedures Criminal cases in a criminal case there is a prosecutor and a defendant (also known as the accused) the state (through the prosecutor) brings the case to court the onus is on the prosecutor to prove the case the standard of proof in a criminal case is ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ criminal cases can either be summary or indictable

7. summary offences – heard by a magistrate in the Local Court without a jury indictable offences – usually in the District or Supreme Court, before a judge and a jury

8. Proof and verdict a person can plead guilty or not guilty the prosecution must prove the case beyond reasonable doubt (standard of Proof) providing sufficient evidence to convince the court the jury reaches a verdict of guilty or not guilty the judge will then impose an appropriate sentence

9. Civil Case Procedures Civil cases civil cases are court actions involving disputes between individuals between a plaintiff and a defendant an individual or organisation bring the case to court the onus (Burden of Proof)is on the plaintiff to prove the case the standard of proof is ‘on the balance of probabilities’

10. Civil trial process plaintiff and accused exchange documents called ‘pleadings’ that set out issues to be decided in court parties can get information by a process of ‘discovery’ parties can settle the matter without trial if they agree if the plaintiff is successful, the judge can award a remedy

11. Civil trial process which court hears the case will depend on the monetary amount or the subject matter plaintiff to prove the case to the court on the balance of probabilities, meaning more likely than not

13. solicitor

14. witness

15. court officer

16. court reporter

17. prosecutor

18. magistrate

19. judge’s associate

20. tipstaff

21. barrister