1. Identify the areas of law that are relevant to the chosen media report, and explain how they are relevant to the matters outlined in the report.
Students should refer to the areas of law listed in the Lecture 1 PowerPoint presentation. Not all the listed areas of law will be relevant, but each media report involves at least two areas of law.
(4 marks)
2. The law serves a number of different functions. It:
• Ensures reasonable predictability in daily life;
• Encourages and discourages certain conduct;
• Grants rights and powers to individuals and groups of people;
• Imposes obligations on individuals / organisations to meet their legal responsibility;
• Allows for the enforcement of recognised rights and duties; and
• Provides remedies when an injustice has been done.
Demonstrate how the law functions in these various ways, by reference to specific examples within the chosen media report and the areas of law you identified in question 1.
You need only provide one example per point. However, you must discuss all six functions, and where possible, each point should use a different area of law as illustration. Be sure to explain specifically how and why you came to your conclusions.
(6 marks)
3. By reference to the legal issues contained in the chosen media report, explain why it was important for the relevant party/parties to know the law in the circumstances? How did, or could, the party/parties have applied the law to their advantage?
(4 marks)
4. How do the media influence public perceptions about the law and its administration? How might public pressure impact legislators and judges in establishing the law?
