5. Court Structure & Hierarchy
- 2. • Our courts have a hierarchy federally as well as for each state • Different courts hear different issues and some issues can be appealed and so move up through courts
- 5. • Courts often have two jurisdictions: • Original • Appellate • Original is the jurisdiction an issue/case is heard the first time • If the outcome is not desirable, either party (prosecution or defense) can appeal the decision (for a legal reason) • The issue then goes to the appellate jurisdiction • The appellate jurisdiction can be considered slightly higher than the original jurisdiction of the same court • ie. The appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Qld is slightly higher than the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Australia
- 6. Federal Courts • The High Court of Australia has jurisdiction over: • Constitutional matters • Interpretation of the Australian Constitution, for example, whether the Qld. Govt. can impose a new tax (original jurisdiction) • Appeals from the State Courts of Appeal, Family Court of Australia and Federal Court of Australia on civil and criminal cases (appellate jurisdiction)
- 7. • The Family Court of Australia has jurisdiction (original and appellate) over: • Family law matters including divorce, maintenance, property settlements, rights of children following divorce (but no jurisdiction over criminal cases)
- 8. • The Federal Court of Australia has jurisdiction (original and appellate) over: • Specific areas of law including competition laws, consumer laws, bankruptcy, taxation law issues, immigration issues, a small number of criminal cases
- 9. State Courts • The Court of Appeal hears from: • Civil and criminal decisions of Supreme Court, and some decisions of the District Court (no original jurisdiction) • Consists of 3 or 5 judges
- 10. • The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over: • Appeals from the District Court (appellate jurisdiction) • The most serious criminal offences that attract maximum prison sentences of more than 14 years (eg. Murder, manslaughter) (original jurisdiction) • Offences by children such as murder, attempted murder, treason and major drug offences • Civil cases involving amounts more than $750,000 (no maximum $ limit)
- 11. • The District Court has jurisdiction over: • Appeals from the Magistrate Court (appellate jurisdiction) • Most criminal offences that attract a maximum prison sentence of less than 14 years (eg. Stealing, dangerous driving, rape) (original jurisdiction) • Civil cases involving amounts between $150,000 and $750,000 (original jurisdiction)
- 12. • The Magistrate Court has jurisdiction over: • Minor criminal offences that may or may not attract a prison sentence (eg. Drink driving, smoking marijuana) • Civil cases involving amounts less than $50,000 • Domestic violence matters • No appellate jurisdiction other than for tribunals • Appeals from various tribunals (eg. The Small Claims Tribunal) • Note that the Govt. has set up tribunals to have jurisdiction over special types of cases
- 13. • There are also specialist courts at various levels, such as: • Children’s Court (part of the District Court) • For charges against children under 17 • Coroner’s Court (part of the Magistrates Court) • To investigate the cause of death of people who die suddenly, suspiciously or without obvious reason • Drug Court (part of the Magistrates Court) • To deal with sentencing people who have pleaded guilty to drug- related offences
- 14. • The court hierarchy is important because: • It is useful to know in which court to bring a legal action • It is useful to know which court will hear an appeal from a decision