Folio 1: Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunals
Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal (VCAT) were confirmed through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act of 1998. The VCAT is a court that makes legal decisions to settle discourse between various parties by employing alternative mechanisms such as talks, reconciliations and offering each party the opportunity to be heard. The resolutions reached during these proceedings are legitimate and therefore influence all the sides in the dispute. The essay writer VCAT conducts most of its proceedings in the open view except where legal instructions have been issued by VCAT to have the proceedings conducted away from the public eye. However, it is usually difficult to be granted such instructions. Disputes are categorized and maintained based on their nature in what is known in VCAT as a List. Each List contains cases that relate to a given field and are therefore assigned to the relevant experts during hearings. For instance, cases arising from buying and selling commodities and service are usually handled by the Civil Claims List.
Divisions of VCAT
There are five divisions of the Victorian Civil and Appeals Tribunal (VCAT) with a deputy president as its head. These divisions are administrative, human rights, civil, residential tenancies and planning and environment.
Civil Division
This division presides over and makes resolutions on matters that relate to ordinary citizens and their concerns. The disagreements that are normally listened to and settled by the Civil division relate to buying and selling of consumer goods, domestic building construction works, tenancy agreements especially for retailers, property sale and ownership, surface water flow between properties and its utilization and owners’ corporation issues.
Human Rights Division
The human rights decision is mainly concerned with rights that inherent to human beings irrespective of their gender, race, nationality, religion etc. This division handles disputes relating to child custody and administration, health and advance, medical care, segregation based on religion and race, the disability act 2006 (Vic), powers of the attorney and equal opportunity for all people.
Advantages of having specialized Tribunals
The three advantages of having specialized tribunals to support business and individuals are, tribunals are less costly as they do not charge legal fees given that each party settles its own costs. This then means that no legal representation is sought in tribunals. Through tribunals, cases take a shorter time in court hence determination is done very quickly thereby saving on the time element. Given different experts handle dispute relating to their areas of expertise, determination of cases done by experts sitting in those tribunals tend to be guided by the knowledge possessed in that particular field and therefore tend to be fair verdicts.
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Role of Administrative Appeals Tribunal AAT
The AAT came in existence through the Administrative Appeals Tribunals Act of 1975 and was operationalized on 1 July 2015. The AAT carries out free and individualistic assessment of the quality of all the determinations reached on cases under the commonwealth law. The AAT receives and analyzes the standard of decisions made pertaining to various disputes from Australian Ministries, state departments and other bodies such as non-governmental organizations. The AAT mostly evaluates the standards of resolutions made that relate to family support and social security, child welfare and support, migration and refuge visas, taxation entitlements and compensation for workers.
Functions of AAT in relation to business
In relation to business, the AAT relooks at decisions arrived at on matters relating to taxation entitlements in the world of business and by so doing finds a middle ground for the parties involved. The AAT also handles matters relating to employees’ grievances and helps restore good relationship between the employees and the employers.
Folio 2: Consumer Law Case Study
Dear Manager,
COMPLAINT ABOUT FAULTY CAR
I am writing to you to complain about transmission issues in the car I purchased in 2016 from Essendon Ford Dealership. The said car has transmission problem that needs to be addressed by the company yet all by efforts to get the car rectified has been refuted citing incorrect driving. I have so far brought this problem to your attention on four occasions without success. I have drove a similar Ford car brand for my friend which confirmed that indeed my car has a transmission problem rather than poor driving as you have claimed. In addition, I have also sought the opinion of mechanics who have also confirmed the existence of the problem. I want to state that the condition of the car is likely to cause grave physical harm to myself and my family that ride in the car.
The Australian consumer law protects the consumer against any harm occasioned by the product. Therefore, the purchased car is supposed to be high safety standards and quality. Section 18 of the ACL provides that any person should never, in commerce or trade, engage in a misleading or deceptive conduct, or even likely to deceive or mislead another person. In this case, the Manager is engaged in conduct that misleads me into believing that purchased car is not faulty, and instead diverts the problem to poor driving which is not true to the best of my knowledge. The remedies for such conduct include damages in the form of penalties.
It is clear that company management has breached the provision of ACL by failing to rectify the problem as required under the consumer protection law and engaging in deceiving and misleading conducts. I want this problem fixed as quickly as possible by the Ford Company. If I do not hear from you within the next one, I will institute a formal complaint with consumer affairs in my state.
Kindly contact me on telephone No. 2301020 on the matter to discuss on how to sort out this mess.
Yours Sincerely
Xyx
I enclose a copy of the receipt for the car for your further action
Folio 3: Partnership Agreement
THIS PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT is made this10th day of October, 2019, by and between the following individuals:
| James Smith | Address: Apollo Rd State/Postcode: Texas, Dallas |
| Ben Roberts | Address: Airport Fwy State/Postcode: Texas, Dallas |
| Michael Joseph | Address: Airport Fwy State/Postcode: Texas, Dallas |
1. Nature of Business. The partners listed above hereby agree that they shall be considered partners in business for the following purpose:
- Collaborate on ownership
- Collaborate on governance
- Collaborate on Operation
2. Name. The partnership shall be conducted under the name of Bluesky Restaurant and shall maintain offices at Berkner Dr, Dallas, Texas, 1804.
3. Day-To-Day Operation. The partners shall provide their full-time services and best efforts on behalf of the partnership. No partner shall receive a salary for services rendered to the partnership. Each partner shall have equal rights to manage and control the partnership and its business. Should there be differences between the partners concerning ordinary business matters, a decision shall be made by unanimous vote. It is understood that the partners may elect one of the partners to conduct the day-to-day business of the partnership; however, no partner shall be able to bind the partnership by act or contract to any liability exceeding $ 10,000 without the prior written consent of each partner.
- Capital Contribution. The capital contribution of each partner to the partnership shall consist of the following property, services, or cash which each partner agrees to contribute:
| Name of Partner | Capital Contribution | Agreed-Upon Cash | % Share |
| James Smith | $5000 | Yes | 30 |
| Ben Roberts | $5000 | Yes | 30 |
| Michael Joseph | $6000 | Yes | 40 |
4. The partnership shall maintain a capital account record for each partner; should any partner’s capital account fall below the agreed to amount, then that partner shall (1) have his share of partnership profits then due and payable applied instead to his capital account; and (2) pay any deficiency to the partnership if his share of partnership profits is not yet due and payable.
5. Profits and Losses. The profits and losses of the partnership shall be divided by the partners according to a mutually agreeable schedule and at the end of each calendar year according to the proportions listed above.
6. Term/Termination. The term of this Agreement shall be for a period of 10 years, unless the partners mutually agree in writing to a shorter period. Should the partnership be terminated by unanimous vote, the assets and cash of the partnership shall be used to pay all creditors, with the remaining amounts to be distributed to the partners according to their proportionate share.
7. Disputes. This Partnership Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas
8. Withdrawal/Death of Partner. In the event a partner withdraws or retires from the partnership for any reason, including death, the remaining partners may continue to operate the partnership using the same name. A withdrawing partner shall be obligated to give sixty (60) days’ prior written notice of his/her intention to withdraw or retire and shall be obligated to sell his/her interest in the partnership. No partner shall transfer interest in the partnership to any other party without the written consent of the remaining partner(s). The remaining partner(s) shall pay the withdrawing or retiring partner, or to the legal representative of the deceased or disabled partner, the value of his interest in the partnership, or (a) the sum of his/her capital account, (b) any unpaid loans due him/her, (c) hi/hers proportionate share of accrued net profits remaining undistributed in his capital account, and (d) his/her interest in any prior agreed appreciation in the value of the partnership property over its book value. No value for good will shall be included in determining the value of the partner’s interest.
9. Non-Compete Agreement. A partner who retires or withdraws from the partnership shall not directly or indirectly engage in a business which is, or which would be competitive with the existing or then anticipated business of the partnership for a period of 6 months, in those areas of this State where the partnership is currently doing or planning to do business.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the partners have duly executed this Agreement on the day and year set forth hereinabove.
| James Smith Partner | Ben Roberts Partner |
Folio 4: Reflection
Knowledge on Australian legal system is essential in daily life and guiding people win their career. Commercial law in particular in vital in guiding employees in business related field in their approach to complex issues between their organization and key stakeholders such as consumers and suppliers. This knowledge is applied in making decisions regarding contracts and business transactions. With knowledge of Australian legal system, a person is able to avoid legal disputes related to contracts and transaction thus saving unnecessary legal costs to their firms. Knowledge of legal system also helps in resolving disputes and conflicts between the organization and key stakeholders. Besides, knowledge of Australian business laws helps one to eliminate the risk associated with financial transactions and contract agreement.
The negligence case encountered relates to premises liability involving slip and fall accidents. In this case, it was noted that even though the premise owner failed to maintain the premise and minimizes the risk of injuries to the clients, a disclaimer clause ‘beware of slippery floor’ excluded the owner from the liability of negligence (Baumann, & Friehe, 2016). Therefore, the property owner was not liable for neglect in this case. This case involved a restaurant that had a wet floor after renovation thus subjecting its customers to the risk of slip and fall accidents. In that case, the court ruled that the restaurant cannot be held liable for the injury sustained by the client.
The parties in a contract are legally bound to comply with terms of contractual agreements. The breach of contractual terms are common lawsuits seeking remedy for damages caused with aim of restoring the injured party to the position they would be in if the breach had never occurred (McKendrick, 2014). An example of contract breach encountered involved a case in Iowa court between the Rock product V. Hawkeye International Trucks. The plaintiff sought compensation damages for breaching contractual terms. The plaintiff claimed that the Rock quarry operating company ordered some trucks of from defendant. The required gross capacity for each truck was 74,000 Pounds including its weight. The trucks were to haul quarry from underground mines of the plaintiff. In testimony during trial, it was stated that defendant failed to Rock Company failed to perform at the required level. The jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff for breach of contractual terms, only for the appeal court to reverse the judgment. This is a clear example of contract breach case involving the failure of one party in the contract to provide services as per the terms of the contract.
References
Baumann, F., & Friehe, T. (2016). Baumann, F., & Friehe, T. (2016). Learning-by-doing in torts: Liability and information about accident technology. Economics Letters, 138, 1-4.
McKendrick, E. (2014). Contract law: text, cases, and materials. Oxford University Press (UK).
Rock product V. Hawkeye International Trucks.
