Question 1.

Section 18 of theRoad Safety Act1986(Vic) states that it is an offence to drive a motor vehicle on a highway without holding a driver's licence. Section 3 of the Act states that a "driver" is defined to be a driver who "......is present in or near the vehicle".

The police find an unlicensed person sitting in a parked car, in the driver's seat, with the engine off.

Referring to the rules of statutory interpretation, explain the possible liability and defences which may apply to the unlicensed driver under the Statute. Imagine that the penalty for a breach of the Act is 10 penalty points or imprisonment for 10 days.

Question 2.

Look up the case ofAustralian Safeway v Zaluzna(1987) 162 CLR 479. In this case, Mrs Zaluzna visited a supermarket on a very wet day. She did not make it into theactual shopping area, but slipped on the vinyl tiles in the foyer. Mrs Zaluzna was injured as a result of her heavy fall; she sued the supermarket, but was not successful and appealed to the High Court.

Discuss the following:

(a) What were the legal issues in this case?

(b) Why did Mrs Zaluzna have to go to the High Court? What was the decision of the lower court?

(c) What did the High Court decide? State the principles in law that they formulated and the significance of those principles.

(d) Was it a fair decision, do you think? What kind of precautions might a supermarket take?

(e) There have been some criticisms of the case why, and what are the concerns of commenters?

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Question 1 In interpreting Section 18 of the Road Safety Act 1986 Vic regarding driving without a license the principle of statutory interpretation comes into play Firstly the literal rule suggests th... View the full answer