Legal System in the US and Australia

Running Head: Australian Commercial Laws 0
Australian Commercial Law
Student Name:

Running Head: Australian Commercial Laws
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Question 1
Legal System in the US: The legal system in the United States is different from the
legal system in Australia as the United States has a federal government which follows
the written constitution where each and every detail is specified under the constitution1.
It can also be observed that there is a separate system for each of its states. There is an
individual separate constitution for their every state, but such a constitution is based on
the national federal constitution of the country. The legislative, judiciary and the
executive powers of the country and states are exercised separately by the different
branches of the government. The laws of the country are legislated by the United States
Congress who is the members of both Senates and the House of Representatives. Both
Senates and House of Representatives are elected for six years and two years term
respectively2. Each state has two Senates who speak for the rights and obligations of
each state. There are a total of 435 members of the House of Representatives who are
elected for two years. The executive powers remain in the hands of President of the
country where the approval of legislation, approvals, the signing of treaties and various
other actions are done by the President of the country.
The rule of recognition is also applicable to all the states in the United States of
America where each state has its own constitution which is based upon the federal
1
Wald and Calhoun-Brown. Religion and politics in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield. (ed,
2014)
2 Wilson. Constitutional government in the United States. Routledge ( ed, 2017).

Running Head: Australian Commercial Laws
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constitution of America3. The rules and regulations in the United States of America are
identified in the form of both primary and secondary rules where the primary rules are
duly mentioned in the constitution where the secondary rules are the judicial
judgements made by the higher court of justice which are prevailing in the lower court
of law. The court of law has also the power of judicial review where the court of law
has the power to make a critical review on the decisions made by the government of
United States of America. The law that is primary laws and the secondary laws which
are made by the constitution can be easily changed, updated, and deleted. Such process
has adopted both principles of change which helps the government of United States of
America to amend and update laws according to the needs and requirements of the
citizen of the country4. One of the basic functions of the rule of recognition is that the
constitution of the country, as well as the constitution of states, is generally available to
the public domain which can be easily accessed by the citizens of the country. The rule
of adjudication is a legal ruling given by the higher courts of law which helps in settling
other similar cases with a faster and an easier framework5. The constitution of United
States of America gives a right to the courts of law that their judgements could be
referred and prevailed by the lower court of law6.
3 Beard, An economic interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. (Routledge ed, 2017).
4 Bray, S.L.et al, The Constitution of the United States. Foundation Press (2016).
5
Appleby, and Webster, Executive power under the constitution: a presidential and parliamentary
system compared. (U. Colo. L. Rev., 87, p.1129 ed, 2016).
6

Running Head: Australian Commercial Laws
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The legal system in Australia: The legal system in Australia is different from the legal
system in the United States as there is a federal form of government in Australia where
the powers are duly distributed between the centre and states. Apart from the centre and
states there are also three self-governing territories. It can also be observed that the
legal system in Australia was inherited from the legal system in the United Kingdom.
The constitution of Australia is also known as Commonwealth Constitution which
contains all the provisions relating formation and execution of laws in the country. The
constitution of Australia has given powers to the government of the country to enact
laws and to execute laws for the benefit of the country7. The lawmaking powers are not
specified in the commonwealth constitution as the state has the power to make and
amend laws according to their requirements8. In other words, it could be easily
understood that the constitution of Australia has divided powers between the centre and
state. The limited power is given to the centre where the crucial decision s of the
country such as budget, finance, foreign trade, immigration etc. is being granted to the
centre. Most of the powers are also mentioned in section 51 of the constitution where
the powers of the country are divided in the concurrent list where both state and centre
has the right to practice such laws. But in case of any conflict with the centre and state,
the powers mentioned in the commonwealth constitution to the centre will prevail.
Tooker. The United States Constitution and the Iroquois League. In The Invented Indian. Routledge
(pp. 107-128 ed, 2017).
7 French, Book Review: Lisa Burton Crawford the Rule of Law and the Australian Constitution(ed,
2017).
8 Beck, Religious Freedom and the Australian Constitution: Origins and Future. (Routledge ed,
2018).