The Legal System

Enforcing the Law

Criminal Law

Law enforcement agencies

ACT Policing and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) prosecute criminal charges on behalf of the Territory. The AFP and the Commonwealth DPP (CDPP) prosecute offences against Commonwealth Laws in the Territory. See also PoliceServices.

The Australian Crime Commission (ACC) is Australia's national criminal intelligence agency. It does not itself have an enforcement role, but works in partnership with other law enforcement agencies to:

• develop a national understanding of serious and organised crime;
• provide target information for action by partner agencies; and
• predict future criminal trends.

A. Anti-corruption bodies

The ACT has not established a Crimes and Misconduct Commission or Independent Commission Against Corruption (even though these are now established in most other States). This work is undertaken by ACT Policing within the Australian Federal Police.

At the Commonwealth Level the main anti-corruption functionary is the Integrity Commissioner, supported by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI). The Commissioner is responsible for preventing, detecting and investigating serious and systemic corruption issues in the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission. The current Commissioner is Philip Moss.

Government regulatory bodies

A number of bodies created by parliament enforce the legislation they administer; for example:

• the Environment Protection Authority in the ACT is primarily responsible for enforcing the pollution laws;
• the Office of Regulatory Services (ORS) enforces fair trading law in the ACT;
• the Therapeutic Goods Administration regulates the quality and availability of prescription medicine in Australia;
• the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission enforces the Commonwealth Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth).

A. How government bodies enforce laws

Regulatory bodies use a range of strategies to enforce the law, including:

• pointing out to someone that they are in breach of the law, and requiring something to be done
• issuing an infringement notice (see below)
• requiring someone to answer questions and produce documents for examination
• prosecuting the person in court. Some regulatory bodies do their own prosecutions, while others ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to carry them out.

Infringement notices

Infringement notices are on-the-spot fines. They give the person the option of paying the fine or defending the matter in court. Examples of matters for which an infringement notice might be issued are parking and driving offences, defacing premises, urinating in a public place, littering and failing to file a company's annual return.

Anyone who receives such a notice and is not sure what to do should seek legal advice.

Prosecutions by individuals

Private individuals may prosecute criminal offences. However, this is rare; crimes must be proved beyond reasonable doubt -- very difficult without the resources and powers of law enforcement agencies -- and there is the risk of having to pay the legal costs of an unsuccessful prosecution.

A person should get legal advice before beginning private criminal proceedings.

Civil Law

Civil law is enforced by people and companies who claim they have been harmed, misled, or treated unfairly. If one person's negligence injures another person, for example, it is up to the injured person to sue to obtain compensation.

Generally, only the wronged or injured person is allowed to enforce the law in this situation. If they are unable to do so because, for example, they are under 18 or lacking the intellectual ability to handle their own affairs, the court can agree to someone else taking the action on their behalf.

A. How civil cases are commenced

Civil cases are commenced in a number of different ways, depending on the type of case and the particular court or tribunal that will deal with it. Each has its own forms, rules and procedures.

Court and tribunal staff can usually provide information about what a person needs to do.

B. Paying the other party's costs

A common rule in enforcing a civil claim is that the losing side pays the winning side's legal costs. This is intended to discourage claims that lack merit.

The rule is usually enforced in courts, but often does not apply in tribunals. For example, in the ACAT, costs are awarded only as a penalty where a party has caused unreasonable delay.

Administrative Law

Administrative law governs the processes, powers and decisions of government bodies.

Whether and how government obligations under a law can be enforced is generally discussed in the relevant law. If review of government decisions is available, it is usually through an administrative tribunal, such as the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal for Territory law and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for Commonwealth law, and tribunals that specialise in particular areas of government activity, such as the Commonwealth Social Security Appeals Tribunal (see SocialSecurityAndFamilyAssistance).

Who can take action in administrative law?

Usually a person who is adversely affected by a government decision can take action to have that decision reviewed. There are rules about standing that say who can enforce the law by taking government authorities to court; these are discussed in AdministrativeLaw.

Legal Assistance

Anyone who has to defend themselves in criminal proceedings, make or defend a civil claim, or manage an administrative law matter, should get advice from a qualified lawyer in legal practice.

For information about people and services who can give legal advice and assistance, see AssistanceWithLegalProblems.