Parliament and the courts: Principles of justice
Members of parliament and the judiciary discuss the principles of justice that inform the process of making, applying and reforming laws.
The eight videos in this series feature extracts from a panel conversation on Thursday 3 March 2022.
- Defining the principles of justice
- Practical limitations to the principles of justice
- Principles of justice and legislation
- Separation of powers and interpreting legislation
- Social cohesion versus individual rights
- Different processes for creating equality
- Ways to increase your knowledge of the law
- Reviewing and reforming legislation
Members of the Victorian Parliament and the Victorian Courts discuss the relationship between parliament and the courts, and the principles of justice that inform the process of making, applying and reforming laws. Guests included Her Honour Judge My Anh Tran, His Honour Judge David Sexton and the Hon. Michael O'Brien MP.
These videos are not intended to serve as a definitive resource for the topics covered, however, they do offer useful insights into the perspectives of the experts who took part in this conversation.
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About the panel
Judge My Anh Tran
Judge My Anh Tran was appointed as a Judge of the County Court in October 2020, after five years working as a Judicial Registrar in the Commercial Division of the County Court. Her Honour is now sitting in the Common Law Division, handling personal injury, testator family maintenance, defamation and quasi-crime matters such as intervention order appeals and supervision orders. Her Honour is the Judge in Charge of the Family Property List.
Judge David Sexton
Judge David Sexton was appointed a Judge of the County Court of Victoria on 14 August 2018. In addition to sitting in the Criminal Trial Division, his Honour has significant involvement in the Specialist Courts at the County Court. Prior to his appointment to the County Court, his Honour was a Barrister for 14 years, appearing exclusively in the criminal law jurisdiction at all levels in Victoria, as well as interstate, specialising in the area of sexual offences.
The Hon. Michael O'Brien MP
Michael was first elected to the Parliament of Victoria as the Member for Malvern in 2006, following a career as an industrial relations lawyer, senior adviser to former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello and commercial barrister at the Victorian Bar. In addition to holding a diverse range of shadow portfolios during his time in Parliament, Michael has served as Minister for Energy and Resources, Minister for Gaming, Minister for Consumer Affairs and Treasurer of Victoria. Following the 2018 state election he was elected by members of his party to serve as Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition, until September 2021.
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Discussion questions
Defining the principles of justice
- How are the principles of justice defined?
- Why are the principles of justice important?
- What role does parliament and the courts have in applying the principles of justice?
Practical limitations to the principles of justice
- What are the limitations to the principles of justice across courts and parliament?
- What are the protections and challenges of principles of justice?
- What is the relationship between rule of law and the principles of justice?
- How did the pandemic affect the parliament and the courts and their ability to apply the principles of justice? Consider judge only trials in your response.
- How might technological advances have benefitted or limited the ability to apply the principles of justice?
Principles of justice and legislation
- How are the principles interrelated?
- How might the principles be compromised or balanced when passing and applying legislation?
- How do the principles apply to the processes of parliament, such as drafting legislation and/or the committee process?
- How might the principles of justice be useful in identifying consequences and unintended consequences of legislation?
Separation of powers and interpreting legislation
- How do the principles of justice relate to the separation of powers?
- What role do the courts play in interpreting law, and providing feedback for reforming the law?
Social cohesion versus individual rights
- How do you balance individual rights and social cohesion?
- How might parliament and the courts understand what the expectations and interests of the community?
Different processes for creating equality
- How does the Koori Court apply the principles of justice?
- How could the principles of justice be strengthened through the use of different court systems?
- How does the Koori Court demonstrate the difference between equality and equity?
Ways to increase your knowledge of the law
- What might be the affects of media reporting of the work of parliament, legislation and the work of the courts?
- How can people become more aware of what happens in both parliament and the courts?
- What role does the parliament and courts play in educating the community?
Reviewing and reforming legislation
- What is the process of reviewing a piece of legislation? Consider the committee process in your response?
- What might be reasons for reviewing and reforming the law? And what might be some of the consequences, intended or otherwise, for not reviewing or reforming laws on a regular basis?
- What criteria might you apply in deciding the priority order for which laws need review and/or reform?
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Classroom connections
These videos are useful as either an introduction, consolidation or refresher to concepts surrounding the principles of justice, especially for VCE Legal Studies. However, the videos can be used across multiple year levels and can be used in conjunction with a number of different resources.
- Related resources