The
Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of
common lawCommon law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through legislative statutes or executive action, and to corresponding legal systems that rely on precedential case law....
and equity, with unlimited
jurisdictionJurisdiction 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.Alternatively, jurisdiction is the authority given...
within the state. Those courts lying below it include the
County Court of VictoriaThe County Court of Victoria was established in 1852 by the County Courts Act 1852. The court has jurisdiction in the State of Victoria, Australia...
, the
Magistrates' Court of VictoriaThe Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Victorian court system, with the County Court of Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria respectively judicially higher...
and the
Victorian Civil and Administrative TribunalThe Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal is a government agency in the state of Victoria, Australia. The name is pronounced 'vee-cat'. It is usually referred to as "VCAT" rather than "the VCAT"....
(which is technically not a court, but serves a judicial function). Above it lies the
High Court of AustraliaThe High Court of Australia is the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
. This places it around the middle of the
Australian court hierarchyThere are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal stream and the state and territory stream. While the federal courts and the court systems in each state and territory are separate, the High Court of Australia remains the ultimate court of appeal for the Australian...
.
The Supreme Court has two divisions - the Trial Division and the Court of Appeal.
The Trial Division sits with one judge, and usually acts as a court of original jurisdiction for serious criminal matters such as murder, attempted murder, corporate offences and certain conspiracy charges, and civil matters which are considered to involve greater complexity or amounts of money more than would be appropriate to have determined in the
Magistrates' CourtThe Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Victorian court system, with the County Court of Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria respectively judicially higher...
(whose civil jurisdictional limit is presently $100,000) or
County CourtThe County Court of Victoria was established in 1852 by the County Courts Act 1852. The court has jurisdiction in the State of Victoria, Australia...
(whose jurisdiction has since the beginning of 2007 been unlimited as to amount).
The
Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of
common lawCommon law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through legislative statutes or executive action, and to corresponding legal systems that rely on precedential case law....
and equity, with unlimited
jurisdictionJurisdiction 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.Alternatively, jurisdiction is the authority given...
within the state. Those courts lying below it include the
County Court of VictoriaThe County Court of Victoria was established in 1852 by the County Courts Act 1852. The court has jurisdiction in the State of Victoria, Australia...
, the
Magistrates' Court of VictoriaThe Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Victorian court system, with the County Court of Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria respectively judicially higher...
and the
Victorian Civil and Administrative TribunalThe Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal is a government agency in the state of Victoria, Australia. The name is pronounced 'vee-cat'. It is usually referred to as "VCAT" rather than "the VCAT"....
(which is technically not a court, but serves a judicial function). Above it lies the
High Court of AustraliaThe High Court of Australia is the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
. This places it around the middle of the
Australian court hierarchyThere are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal stream and the state and territory stream. While the federal courts and the court systems in each state and territory are separate, the High Court of Australia remains the ultimate court of appeal for the Australian...
.
Jurisdiction of Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has two divisions - the Trial Division and the Court of Appeal.
The Trial Division sits with one judge, and usually acts as a court of original jurisdiction for serious criminal matters such as murder, attempted murder, corporate offences and certain conspiracy charges, and civil matters which are considered to involve greater complexity or amounts of money more than would be appropriate to have determined in the
Magistrates' CourtThe Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Victorian court system, with the County Court of Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria respectively judicially higher...
(whose civil jurisdictional limit is presently $100,000) or
County CourtThe County Court of Victoria was established in 1852 by the County Courts Act 1852. The court has jurisdiction in the State of Victoria, Australia...
(whose jurisdiction has since the beginning of 2007 been unlimited as to amount). The Trial Division also acts as an appeal court from the Magistrates' Court on questions of law, and appeals from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on points of law, except against an order of the President or Vice-President of the Tribunal. It also hears federal
indictable offencesIn many common law jurisdictions , an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a prima facie case to answer or by a grand jury...
such as treason.
The Court of Appeal hears appeals from the County Court and the Trial Division, as well as appeals on points of law from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal against the order of the President or Vice-President, and usually consists of a panel of three Judges of Appeal. In rare cases where it is sought to overrule or reconsider the correctness of a previous Court of Appeal decision, it can sit with five judges.
Locations
The main buildings for the Supreme Court are located at the corner of William and Lonsdale Streets in Melbourne and in nearby buildings.
http://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/CA256CC60028922C/page/About+the+Court?OpenDocument&1=10-About+the+Court~&2=~&3=~
The Supreme Court also does circuits to
BallaratBallarat is a city in Victoria, Australia, and Victoria's largest inland city. It is well-known for its history and heritage and is a major regional centre in the Goldfields region of Victoria....
,
GeelongGeelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria, Australia and is the largest regional centre in the state. It is a port city with an urban population of 160,991 people, and one of the largest provincial cities in Australia...
,
WarrnamboolWarrnambool is a regional city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia, located in the municipality City of Warrnambool. It is at the western end of the Great Ocean Road, but is more quickly reached along the Princes Highway, 265 kilometres and 3 hours from Melbourne by road or rail.-...
,
HamiltonHamilton is a city in western Victoria, Australia. It is located at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway...
,
HorshamHorsham is the largest city by population and regional centre of the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia and is approximately north-west of Melbourne via the Western Highway. At the 2006 census, Horsham had a population of 14,125. Horsham is in the federal Division of Mallee. Currently held by...
,
BendigoBendigo is a regional city in central Victoria, Australia, located in the City of Greater Bendigo. It is approximately 131 kilometres from the state capital of Melbourne. With a steadily growing urban population estimated at 88,031 Bendigo is currently the fourth most populous city in Victoria...
,
MilduraMildura is a regional city in northwestern Victoria, Australia, part of the Rural City of Mildura. Mildura is located in the Sunraysia region, and is on the banks of the Murray River. The city's population was 30,016 at the 2006 census....
,
SheppartonShepparton is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The population of the municipality of City of Greater Shepparton in 2005 was estimated to be at 60,403 residents. The population of Shepparton-Mooroopna is estimated at 38,773...
,
WangarattaWangaratta is a cathedral city of about 15,685 people in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, about from Melbourne along the Hume Highway, with Benalla to the southwest, and Albury-Wodonga to the northeast. It is located at the junction of the Ovens and King rivers which flow from the...
,
WodongaWodonga is a small city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is covered by the municipality Wodonga City Council...
,
SaleSale is a cathedral city in the Australian state of Victoria, in the Shire of Wellington. It has a population of around 13,336, the population having decreased in recent decades.-History:...
and
MorwellMorwell is a city in central Gippsland, a region in the east of Victoria. Morwell is the heart of Victoria's energy centre, the Latrobe Valley. It is also the administrative centre for the City of Latrobe....
. In these locations the Court uses the facilities of the local Magistrates' Court.
http://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/Supreme+Court/Home/About+the+Court/Locations/Regional+Courts/
Judges of the Court of Appeal
- Peter Buchanan
The Honourable Justice Peter Buchanan is a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, the highest court in Victoria, a state of Australia. Buchanan was appointed a judge of the court on 27 October 1997 . Buchanan is currently the longest serving member of the Court of Appeal.-Education and...
(28 October 1997)
- Geoffrey Nettle (8 June 2004)
- David Ashley (21 June 2005)
- Marcia Neave
Justice Marcia Ann Neave AO was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria, Court of Appeals division, on 22 February 2006.Before her appointment, Neave was the foundation Chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission and Professor of Law at Monash University...
AOThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"....
, (22 February 2006)
- Robert Redlich (8 May 2006)
- Julie Dodds-Streeton (8 August 2007)
- Mark Weinberg (28 July 2008)
- Philip Mandie (August 2009)
- Bernard Bongiorno (August 2009)
Judges
- Philip Cummins (17 February 1988)
- Thomas Smith (1 May 1990)
- David Byrne (20 August 1991)
- David Harper (11 March 1992)
- Hartley Hansen (6 April 1994)
- David Habersberger (3 July 2001)
- Robert Osborn (9 May 2002)
- Katherine Williams (25 October 2002)
- Stephen Kaye (16 December 2003)
- Simon Whelan
Simon Whelan was appointed judge on 17 March 2004 in the Supreme Court of Victoria, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria....
(17 March 2004)
- Elizabeth Hollingworth (7 June 2004)
- Kevin Bell
The Honourable Justice Kevin Bell QC is a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and, since February 2008, he has served as the President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal...
(10 February 2005)
- Kim Hargrave (18 March 2005)
- Betty King (21 June 2005)
- Anthony Cavanough (8 May 2006)
- Elizabeth Curtain (3 October 2006)
- Tony Pagone (16 May 2007; previously served from 3 October 2001 - 30 June 2002)
- Paul Coghlan (8 August 2007)
- Ross Robson (8 August 2007)
- Jack Forrest (8 August 2007)
- Lex Lasry
Lex Lasry QC is a prominent Australian lawyer and a judge in the Supreme Court of Victoria.Lasry graduated from the prestigious Haileybury College, Melbourne then Monash University in Melbourne. He was admitted to practise law in Victoria in 1973 and was appointed Queens Counsel in 1990. Lasry is...
(23 October 2007)
- James Judd (4 March 2008)
- Peter Vickery (13 May 2008)
- Emilios Kyrou
Emilios Kyrou is a Greek-born judge sitting on the Supreme Court of Victoria, the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria.Until being appointed, Kyrou was a partner at Mallesons Stephen Jaques, a national firm of solicitors, practising mainly in insurance law, government law and...
(13 May 2008)
- David Beach (5 September 2008)
External links