Australian Law - Coursework Example

Legislative issues arising from the legislature are resolved in the high courts of Australia. The governor-general takes leadership roles in both the executive and the legislature. However, he does not have such power over the judiciary ((Chisholm & Garth 2012, 140). This makes the judiciary part of the government independent from the other arms of government and this ensures that justice is served if the persons serving the other arms of the government misbehave. Court Hierarchy in Western Australia The highest level of the court hierarchy in Australia is the high court.

This court deal with court appeal cases from the lower court bodies such as the supreme courts, the federal courts, family courts and the full court. The high court has a special role of dealing with cases of great significance to the federal government which includes challenges to the legitimacy and constitutionality of legislature decisions. Below the high court we have the federal courts which delegates on civil matters. These courts can be presided over by a full court of three judges or a single judge.

The family courts is the third type of court in Australia an deals with family and marriage related cases together with the cases related to rights of children born in Australia. Below this we have the federal magistrate courts dealing with cases of minimal complexities. These include cases arising from civil rights, family law, industrial law and bankruptcy. After this comes the federal tribunals that have been created to deal with specific cases related to immigration, native title, human rights and industrial relations ((Chisholm & Garth 2012, 156).

Lastly we have the state courts that deal with issues unique to each state. These are further subdivided into supreme courts, intermediate and lower courts, special courts and tribunals. Alternative Dispute Resolution There are various alternative dispute resolution methods that are used in conflict resolution. One of the techniques is arbitration where two conflicting parties seek the help of a third party (arbitrator) whose decision they decide to comply with instead if taking a case to court.

The arbitrator is expected to be impartial and should not take any sides. This method is cheaper and faster than a court proceeding. However, it may be difficult to resolve the issue in cases requiring high level of expertise that the arbitrator does not possess. Conciliation is another alternative where the conciliator meets with each party in a conflict separately. Mediation is another technique where the conflict parties seek the help of a mediator who develops a settlement that works for both parties ((Chisholm & Garth 2012, 138).

Tribunals are like informal courts where disputes in different areas are resolved outside a formal court system and are also quick. All these methods have been seen to be effective in reducing the reoccurrence of the same conflicts. This is because all the parties involved get chances to influence the final decision and get a settlement that works for them. This is unlike when the conflicts are resolved in a court where the parties are forced to abide by the court orders whether they agree with the decisions or not.

Role of Specialized Courts and Tribunals The special courts and tribunals are part of each of the states court system and deal with special issues that affects people