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Final Examination
Semester 2 - 2002
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Emalus Campus
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COURSE NAME: LEGAL
SYSTEMS II
COURSE NO: LA101
TIME ALLOWED: Three (3) Hours
READING TIME: Ten (10) Minutes
NUMBER OF PAGES: Four
(4), including cover page
NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ON PAPER: Eight (8)
NUMBER OF QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED: Five -
The compulsory question in section “A” and any four
(4) in section “B”
MARK ALLOCATED FOR EACH QUESTION: The compulsory question in section “A” carries fifteen (15)
marks and the four questions in section “B” carry ten (10) marks each.
TOTAL MARKS: Fifty-five (55)
MATERIALS PERMITTED IN EXAMINATION ROOM: Unannotated
or unmarked copies of LA 101 Reader
Volumes 1-3.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: You are required to do five (5) questions only: the compulsory
question in section A and any four (4) questions in section B. Do not
forget to cite legal authorities for your answers.
SECTION
A
This section has only one question
which is compulsory and it carries fifteen (15) marks. The recommended length of answers to this
question is around six paragraphs or up to three pages of the examination
answer book.
QUESTION ONE
The Chief Justice of Vanuatu
established by warrant the
The
warrant stipulated the territorial jurisdiction of the Court, being, “the
Of the
civil jurisdiction of Island Courts, section 8 of the Act says:
[T]he
civil jurisdiction of an island court extends to the hearing, trial and
determination of all civil matters in which the defendant is ordinarily
resident within the territorial jurisdiction of the court or within which the
cause of action arose.
When exercising jurisdiction over
civil matters, an island court is authorised by section 13 of the Act to make
orders for one or more of the following: payment of monetary compensation,
restitution of property, occupation or vacation of land, and restraining
orders.
Concerning the membership of the
court, section 3(1) of the Act says that the justices of the island court are
appointed by the President acting in accordance with the advice of the Judicial
Services Commission and must number not less than three, one of whom must be a
custom chief residing within the territorial jurisdiction of the court.
Assume that last Friday the Efate
Island court sitting at Erakor village handed down its decision in a civil case
between Chief Beru of Banks (in Torba province) & Chief Aru of Ambae (in Penama
province), both of whom now live at Teuoma on Efate Island. The court found
that according to the customary laws of the people of Ambae, Chief Aru was obligated
to settle some customary debts of his people and ordered Chief Aru to pay four
adult pigs to Chief Beru (on behalf of the Banks Islanders).
Chief Beru initiated the case on
behalf of his people who live in Banks. It was alleged in court that last year
some Ambae islanders sent a request to people in Banks to gather and ship to
Ambae a certain sea shell which was a traditional valuable on Ambae. The Banks
Islanders sent tonnes of the stuff but waited in vain for the four adult pigs
promised to them by the Ambae Islanders as payment. After unsuccessfully making
several attempts to demand payment, the Banks Islanders visited
According to the local newspapers,
the decision in that case was made by three justices who were appointed by the
Prime Minister’s office in consultation with the President of the Republic and
none of whom is a custom chief.
Chief Aru is not happy with this
decision of the
Identify and explain three (3) possible grounds
that you could raise in your appeal. In your discussion refer to relevant cases
from common law countries to support your arguments.
(15 marks)
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SECTION B
This
section contains seven (7) optional questions of which you are required to
answer only four (4). Each question in this section carries ten (10)
marks so the total number of marks for this section is forty (40).
QUESTION TWO
It is often said that once upon a
time in
(10 marks)
QUESTION THREE
Describe the procedural steps one, two,
three and five as commonly used in civil cases that come before the courts.
In your discussion, also explain how these steps serve to facilitate natural
justice.
(10 marks)
QUESTION FOUR
Discuss the meaning of res judicata and the scope of the two main types of estoppel that
it creates. In your discussion, refer to relevant cases to illustrate the
matters you discuss.
(10 marks)
QUESTION FIVE
The courts at common law have developed
rules which set preconditions before certain evidence is admitted or introduced
before the courts. Identify and discuss the two main types of preconditions
which the courts insist upon.
(10 marks)
QUESTION SIX
With reference to decided cases, explain the effects of adopting a generous and flexible interpretation of
words in a written Constitution. Also
explain the circumstances under which the courts choose not to follow this
approach.
(10 marks)
QUESTION SEVEN
With reference to one or two cases, identify and
explain five (5) prohibitions on the
exercise of discretion as recognised at common law.
(10
marks)
QUESTION EIGHT
In
one or two paragraphs, explain the meanings and, where appropriate, give an
example of any five of the following words or phrases as used in the context
of the LA101 course:
(a) Appellate
jurisdiction
(b) Original
Jurisdiction
(c)
Statutory revisionary
jurisdiction
(d) Res Judicata
(e)
Abuse of court process
(f)
Ratio
decidendii
(g) Stare decis
(h)
Persuasive precedent
(i)
Obiter
dicta
(j)
Binding precedent
(10 marks)
