Changing+composition+of+society

=Changing social values and composition of society =

**__1. How does the changing composition of society lead to law reform?__**
 Laws need to reflect the values and beliefs of society. As laws exist to regulate society, they need to reflect the values and the beliefs of the society to which they will apply. Therefore, laws need to change (or be amended) to ensure that they continue to reflect these beliefs and are relevant. Another circumstance under which laws change is when a new government is elected to power. Some examples of where laws have changed where society feels that a law maybe unfair or outdated is in relation to same sex couples, cyber (information technology) laws, anti-discrimination laws and laws relating to changes in technology such as the increased use in mobile phones.

===__2. What is an example of where this has occurred (explain in your own words, include links to other sites or images if appropriate)__ ===

 R V. Carroll is a case example of the changing composition of society leading to law reform. This case involves double jeopardy. In 1973, Raymond Carroll was accused of the murder of Deidre Kennedy. He was found guilty in 1985, but on appeal the Court of Criminal Appeal found him not guilty. However, Carroll was charged fourteen years later with perjury, on the basis that he had lied under oath in his previous trial. He was charged guilty, but on appeal it was found that he has been charged for the same crime twice, in a situation known as ‘double jeopardy’. The case then went to the High Court of Australia. The case of Raymond Carroll created a new legislation, passed by the New South Wales Parliament to address the problems of the double jeopardy principle. This legislation, known as the //Crimes (Appeal and Review) Amendment (Double Jeopardy) Act 2006// enables the state to retry a person who had previously been acquitted of a serious crime, under certain circumstances, such as previously unknown evidence found using technology that would not have been accessible in the time of the first trial.