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Series VPRS 4911
Court of Petty Sessions Special Complaints Registers
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Date Range: Series 1930 - 1971
  Series in Custody 1930 - 1971
  Contents 1930 - 1971
Public Access: Open
Location: Ballarat
Format of Records: Physical
 
Agency which created this SeriesAgency which created this Series
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Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
1930 - 1971 Coleraine Courts VA 937
Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series
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Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
2002 - cont Melbourne Courts VA 518
Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series
  • How to use the Records
    Cases were recorded in Special Complaints Registers in chronological order by the date of hearing.

  • Function / Content
    The special jurisdiction of Courts of Petty Sessions was formally established by the Justices' Act 1928. From this time there were two mechanisms within Courts of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Courts for the redress of civil complaints.

    The "ordinary" jurisdiction empowered the court to determine cases for damages or debts where the precise amount of the claim could be determined according to some objective scale. An example would be the recovery of a debt for goods delivered. Claims brought to court in the ordinary civil jurisdiction often used the system of judgement by default. This system provided that where a respondent did not respond to a summons by giving notice of his or her intention to defend the claim, a judgement could be made in favour of the complainant without a formal court hearing.

    In its "special" jurisdiction the court itself determined the appropriate amount of redress and operated within a higher jurisdictional limit. Claims for damages arising out of a motor vehicle accident were typically handled in the special jurisdiction. In the special jurisdiction a stipendiary magistrate would preside rather than justices of the peace.

    The Magistrates' Courts (Civil Jurisdiction) Act 1979 abolished the distinction between ordinary and special complaints and established a single civil jurisdiction.

    A separate register was required to be kept for recording special complaints. Special Complaints Registers are generally in a common format, giving details of the case number, the name of the complainant, the name of the respondent, how the case came to the court (type and date of summons), a description of the cause or proceeding, the decision or order and any remarks. In order to authenticate entries made in the register the presiding Stipendiary Magistrate signed it at the end of each day.

  • Recordkeeping System
    Entries in the volumes were made in chronological order by the date the case came before the court and each case received a consecutive number. An annual numbering system was usually used, thus the case numbering system reverted to 1 at the beginning of each year.

    The case number was annotated onto all documents lodged with the court during the case. The documents were known as "process" and were placed together to create a case file. In most instances these files were destroyed about fifteen years after the completion of the case to which they related.
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Consignment Number Contents Date Range Public Access No. of Units
P0000 1930 - 1971 Open 2
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