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The District Court of New South Wales is the intermediate court in the judicial hierarchy of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a trial court and has an appellate jurisdiction. In addition, the Judges of the Court preside over a range of tribunals. In its criminal jurisdiction, the Court may deal with all criminal offences except murder, treason and piracy. Established in 1858 pursuant to the , the Court replaced the Courts of Requests and divided the Colony of New South Wales into districts with courts in each district. Reforms during 1973 via the created one District Court, with a statewide criminal and civil jurisdiction. In its civil jurisdiction the Court may deal with all motor accident cases, irrespective of the amount claimed and other claims to a maximum amount of 750,000, although it may deal with matters exceeding this amount if the parties consent. In addition, the Court may deal with equitable claims or demands for recovery of money or damages for amounts not exceeding A$750,000. The Court is also empowered to deal with applications under the , the and the that involve amounts, or property to the value of, not more than A$250,000. The current Chief Judge of the District Court is The Honourable Justice Derek Michael Price AM. ==History== By 1850, the court system in New South Wales consisted of: * The Supreme Court of New South Wales which, under the Third Charter of Justice sealed in 1823, had a criminal and civil jurisdiction similar to that of the superior Courts of England; * Courts of General and Quarter Sessions which could deal with “crimes and misdemeanours not punishable by death”; * Courts of Requests in Sydney and the County of Cumberland, with a civil jurisdiction not exceeding 30; and * Courts of Petty Sessions, which dealt with criminal misdemeanours in a summary way and had a civil jurisdiction up to A$10 (or A$30 if the defendant consented). With the discovery of gold in 1851 the Colony’s population increased and became more dispersed. Litigation grew as the Colony prospered, and crime was not declining. The Supreme Court began to fall seriously into arrears, and this was not helped by the fact that it did not visit a lot of towns. Courts of Quarter Sessions were also few in number and had no civil jurisdiction. By the mid-1850s there were calls for a revision of the court system, to meet the growing needs of the Colony. As a result, the ''District Courts Act 1858'' (NSW) (22 Vic No 18) was assented to on 12 November 1858. This Act established District Courts, as courts of records, to replace Courts of Requests and divided the Colony into Districts. It conferred upon the District Courts a civil jurisdiction. It also provided for the appointment of a District Court Judge as Chairman of any Court of Quarter Sessions or General Sessions, to be held within the limits of the District for which that Judge was appointed.〔 The purpose of the Act was briefly described as: District Courts were established by the Legislature for the purpose of simplifying legal proceedings in the recovery of amounts under £200, and lessening the expenses of attending such proceedings, as well as to relieving the Supreme Court of some portion of the overwhelming civil business which the rapid progress of the colony had lately engendered. The Act providing for the institution of these Courts also extended the jurisdiction of Courts of General and Quarter Sessions of the Peace, and prepared the way for a great increase in their numbers, under the presidency of District Court Judges as Chairmen, whereby criminal proceedings have been much facilitated, especially in the more distant and outlying portions of the country… The ''District Courts Act 1858'' remained in force until 1973, although the jurisdiction of the Court was increased from time to time. The ''District Court Act 1973'' (NSW) commenced on 1 July 1973. It abolished the District Courts and Courts of Quarter Sessions and established one District Court of New South Wales, with a statewide criminal and civil jurisdiction.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「District Court of New South Wales」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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