• to determine and uphold the rights of citizens

• governs relationships between citizens and property

• governs relationships between citizens themselves

• a set of rules and regulations to protect the public's personal safety on a day to day basis

• law is a set of restrictions that guide the actions of people to socially acceptable standards

• law is worthless if it is not enforced

Law is divided into:

The branch of law that defines crimes and provides for their punishment. A crime is regarded as an offence committed against the public, even though only one individual may have been wronged. A person accused of a criminal offence is prosecuted by the state. For the state to win the case the charge must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

If the state's prosecution succeeds it will seek a punishment of the offender which may be a FINE or a term of IMPRISONMENT.

Criminal law is governed by statutes of parliament as is punishments for crime.

Civil law concerns TORT law and CONTRACT law. A tort is a civil wrong committed against an individual. The individual who is injured or who has suffered loss may pursue at his/her discretion a remedy, which may be damages or an injunction.

In a civil law court, the person who pursues a remedy (the person who has been wronged) is called the plaintiff. The person who is accused of having perpetrated the wrong is called the defendant.

Damages take the form of a monetary payment from the defendant to the plaintiff.

An injunction is a court order to do something (e.g. mend the broken fence) or to stop doing something (e.g. stop the production of book in which it is claimed tehre is a breach of copyright).

Unlike a crime, the plaintiff's case need only be proven on the balance of probabilities (i.e. that is easier than proving beyond all reasonable doubt).

• Parliaments make laws called Statute Law. Criminal law is established by statutes but also some civil law e.g. Associations Incorporation Act.

• Law is also made by the decision of judges in law courts. This is referred to as Common Law. Of particular importance is Precedence - the grounds for deciding cases by looking at previous decisions made by judges in similar cases.

• Precedence - previous decisions of courts

• Common law is continuously evolving and judges, when necessary, may look to decisions made in law courts in other countries of the world.

• The purchase of faulty equipment by a recreation organisation may cause injury or badly affect the running of an event.

• Coaches and instructors must be very careful in the way they teach others and this includes giving advice and dealing with injuries

• Organisers of events must ensure venues are safe

• Players or participants have a duty of care to one another and this means playing within the rules of the game

• Professional players, i.e. those people who make a living wage out of sport, may be affected by contracts of employment or by circumstances that would restrict their ability to earn a living through their chosen field.

• Participants in sport may be affected by breaches of natural justice such as having a membership terminated without a proper hearing

• Participants in sport may be affected by inappropriate or incorrect procedures for testing for drugs that improve sporting performance.