Supreme Court of Norfolk Island
Encyclopedia
The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island
hears certain cases in the Australian territory
of Norfolk Island
. It is the superior Court of Norfolk Island. Appeal lies to the Federal Court of Australia
.
Although that Act was repealed by the Norfolk Island Act
1979, the Court continued in existence as "the Superior Court of Record of the Territory".
, practice and procedure of the Supreme Court shall be as provided under "enactment", a term which includes any "Ordinance continued in force by (the 1979) Act" (s.4(1)). One such ordinance is the Supreme Court Ordinance 1960, s.5 of which provides that the Supreme Court has the same jurisdiction in and in relation to the Territory as the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
has in and in relation to the ACT.
By s.11 of the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court Act 1933, the ACT Court has the same original jurisdiction, civil and criminal, as the Supreme Court of New South Wales
had in relation to NSW
immediately before 1 January 1911.
recognised the special relationship of the descendants of the settlers from Pitcairn Island with Norfolk Island
; and that Parliament
The 1979 Act repealed the 1957 and 1963 Acts. Part II of the 1979 Act ("Administration") provided for the appointment by the Governor-General
of an Administrator (ss.5, 6) and for the establishment of the Administration of Norfolk Island as a body politic (s.5(2)). An Executive Council
was established to advise the Administrator (s.11). The Administrator may, on the advice of the Legislative Assembly, appoint a member of the Legislative Assembly to executive office (s.13, and see generally Brown v Administration of Norfolk Island (1991) 29 FCR 511).
The "Judicial System" is dealt with in Part VII of the 1979 Act. The Supreme Court established by the 1957 Act continues in existence, notwithstanding the repeal of that Act (s.52(1)). The Governor-General may appoint a person who, or persons each of whom, is a Judge of another court created by the Parliament to be a Judge or Judges of the Supreme Court (s.53).
Other courts and tribunals for the Territory may be established by or under enactment (s.60).
Section 67(1) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations, in particular to (s.67(1)(a)):
, Victoria
or the ACT
as well as in the Territory, but criminal cases must be dealt with in the Territory (reg. 3(1)).
An appeal lies from the Supreme Court to the Federal Court
under the provisions of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976.
The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island still relies upon the Supreme Court Act 1960 (Norfolk Island) - formerly the Supreme Court Ordinance 1960 - and relies for its Rules of Court and Procedure on the Rules of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory until such time as the Norfolk Island Court decides to make any specific Supreme Court Rule on a particular matter or topic.
and Administration of Deceased estates: Probate and Administration Act 1976 (NI); serious indictable offences and crimes: Criminal Law Act 1960 (NI) adopting the NSW Crimes Act of 1900; Bail on serious offences: Bail Act 2005 (NI), and registration of Maintenance Orders made by foreign courts (not Australian Child Support assessments): Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement)Act 1960 (NI) and exercises federal jurisdiction for those Australian federal laws that are expressed to apply to the Territory of Norfolk Island: Section 18, Norfolk Island Act 1979 (Cth of Aust.)
Its civil and commercial jurisdiction commences at claims in excess of $10,000AUD while the Court of Petty Sessions for Norfolk Island
deals with small claims and claims under $10,000.
Foreign Judgements may be registered in the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island since the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (Commonwealth of Aust) is expressed to apply to all external Territories of Australia
(of which Norfolk Island is one).
who may sit on the Australian mainland or they may convene the court on Norfolk Island depending on the type of matter they may be dealing with.
Supreme Court sittings are generally conducted on a circuit court
basis with Judges attending on Norfolk Island where the volume of work may be sufficient to justify the travel or where a regular court sitting has not been convened for some time or where the law governing a particular matter may require that the court be convened on Norfolk Island and not elsewhere (e.g. most criminal law matters except sexual offences which may now be tried off-island).
The Court staff are generally resident on Norfolk Island.
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
hears certain cases in the Australian territory
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
. It is the superior Court of Norfolk Island. Appeal lies to the Federal Court of Australia
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
.
Legal Basis
The Court was established by the Norfolk Island Act 1957.Although that Act was repealed by the Norfolk Island Act
Norfolk Island Act 1979
The Norfolk Island Act 1979 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia. It granted the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island limited self-government....
1979, the Court continued in existence as "the Superior Court of Record of the Territory".
Practice and Procedure
Under s.59 of the 1979 Act, the jurisdictionJurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
, practice and procedure of the Supreme Court shall be as provided under "enactment", a term which includes any "Ordinance continued in force by (the 1979) Act" (s.4(1)). One such ordinance is the Supreme Court Ordinance 1960, s.5 of which provides that the Supreme Court has the same jurisdiction in and in relation to the Territory as the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
has in and in relation to the ACT.
By s.11 of the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court Act 1933, the ACT Court has the same original jurisdiction, civil and criminal, as the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
had in relation to NSW
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
immediately before 1 January 1911.
Establishment
The Norfolk Island Act 1979 ("the 1979 Act") recited that ParliamentParliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
recognised the special relationship of the descendants of the settlers from Pitcairn Island with Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
; and that Parliament
- "consider(ed) it to be desirable and to be the wish of the people of Norfolk Island that Norfolk Island achieve, over a period of time, internal self-government as a Territory under the authority of the Commonwealth and, to that end, to provide, among other things, for the establishment of a representative Legislative AssemblyLegislative AssemblyLegislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
and of other separate political and administrative institutions on Norfolk Island".
The 1979 Act repealed the 1957 and 1963 Acts. Part II of the 1979 Act ("Administration") provided for the appointment by the Governor-General
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
of an Administrator (ss.5, 6) and for the establishment of the Administration of Norfolk Island as a body politic (s.5(2)). An Executive Council
Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)
An Executive Council in Commonwealth constitutional practice based on the Westminster system is a constitutional organ which exercises executive power and advises the governor or governor-general. Executive Councils often make decisions via Orders in Council.Executive Councillors are informally...
was established to advise the Administrator (s.11). The Administrator may, on the advice of the Legislative Assembly, appoint a member of the Legislative Assembly to executive office (s.13, and see generally Brown v Administration of Norfolk Island (1991) 29 FCR 511).
The "Judicial System" is dealt with in Part VII of the 1979 Act. The Supreme Court established by the 1957 Act continues in existence, notwithstanding the repeal of that Act (s.52(1)). The Governor-General may appoint a person who, or persons each of whom, is a Judge of another court created by the Parliament to be a Judge or Judges of the Supreme Court (s.53).
Other courts and tribunals for the Territory may be established by or under enactment (s.60).
Section 67(1) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations, in particular to (s.67(1)(a)):
-
"(a) (make) provision for and in relation to sittings of the Supreme Court in a State or in a Territory other than Norfolk Island for the purpose of hearing and determining a matter, otherwise than in the exercise of its criminal jurisdiction, if a Judge is satisfied that the hearing of the matter outside the Territory is not contrary to the interests of justice..."
Location of Sittings
Under the Norfolk Island (Supreme Court Sittings) Regulations (SR150/1979) the Supreme Court may, if appropriate, sit in civil cases in New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
or the ACT
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
as well as in the Territory, but criminal cases must be dealt with in the Territory (reg. 3(1)).
An appeal lies from the Supreme Court to the Federal Court
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
under the provisions of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976.
The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island still relies upon the Supreme Court Act 1960 (Norfolk Island) - formerly the Supreme Court Ordinance 1960 - and relies for its Rules of Court and Procedure on the Rules of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory until such time as the Norfolk Island Court decides to make any specific Supreme Court Rule on a particular matter or topic.
Jurisdiction
The Court deals with matters arising under specific Norfolk Island laws such as ProbateProbate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
and Administration of Deceased estates: Probate and Administration Act 1976 (NI); serious indictable offences and crimes: Criminal Law Act 1960 (NI) adopting the NSW Crimes Act of 1900; Bail on serious offences: Bail Act 2005 (NI), and registration of Maintenance Orders made by foreign courts (not Australian Child Support assessments): Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement)Act 1960 (NI) and exercises federal jurisdiction for those Australian federal laws that are expressed to apply to the Territory of Norfolk Island: Section 18, Norfolk Island Act 1979 (Cth of Aust.)
Its civil and commercial jurisdiction commences at claims in excess of $10,000AUD while the Court of Petty Sessions for Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island Court of Petty Sessions
The Norfolk Island Court of Petty Sessions is created by the Court of Petty Sessions Act 1960 , is the equivalent of most Australian mainland Magistrates' Courts or Local Courts....
deals with small claims and claims under $10,000.
Foreign Judgements may be registered in the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island since the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (Commonwealth of Aust) is expressed to apply to all external Territories of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(of which Norfolk Island is one).
Judges
The Judges of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island are generally appointed from among Justices of the Federal CourtFederal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
who may sit on the Australian mainland or they may convene the court on Norfolk Island depending on the type of matter they may be dealing with.
Supreme Court sittings are generally conducted on a circuit court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
basis with Judges attending on Norfolk Island where the volume of work may be sufficient to justify the travel or where a regular court sitting has not been convened for some time or where the law governing a particular matter may require that the court be convened on Norfolk Island and not elsewhere (e.g. most criminal law matters except sexual offences which may now be tried off-island).
The Court staff are generally resident on Norfolk Island.