The Children's Court of Queensland is a specialized court in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, a state of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

which deals with serious crimes committed by children under the age of seventeen years in the state. Decisions made by the Children's Court of Queensland may be heard on

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

to the

District Court of Queensland The District Court of Queensland (QDC) is the second tier in the court hierarchy of Queensland, Australia. The Court deals with serious criminal offences such as rape, armed robbery and fraud. Juries are used to decide if defendants are guilty ...

; and the Children's Court of Queensland has

appellate jurisdiction A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

where for matters heard before a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

of the Children's Court. The court should not be confused with the Children's Court which is a division of the

Magistrates' Court of Queensland The Magistrates Court of Queensland is the lowest court in the court hierarchy of Queensland, Australia. All criminal proceedings in Queensland begin in the Magistrates Court, with minor offences being dealt with summarily, and more serious o ...

Establishment

The court is established under the ''Children's Court Act 1992'' (Qld). The court is a

court of record A court of record is a trial court or appellate court in which a record of the proceedings is captured and preserved, for the possibility of appeal. A court clerk or a court reporter takes down a record of oral proceedings. That written recor ...

and is an

inferior court A lower court or inferior court is a court from which an Appeal (law), appeal may be taken, usually referring to courts other than supreme court. In relation to an appeal from one court to another, the lower court is the court whose decision is ...

. The court came into existence in 1992.

Composition

The court is constituted by either a single judge or a single magistrate depending on the nature of the crime allegedly committed. In most cases, the matters will be dealt with by either a children's court judge or children's court magistrate. However, if one is not available, then a district court judge or a magistrate may deal with the case even though they have not been appointed by the

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor Governors of the Australian states, performs c ...

President of the Children's Court of Queensland

The Governor may appoint a president of the court. The president must be a children's court judge. The major functions of the president are to oversee the court and ensure that its work is carried out quickly and effectively. There is no deputy president of the court. However, the governor may appoint an acting president to act in the president's absence.

Other members of the Court

The Governor may appoint a judge of the

as a judge to the Children's Court. Judges are appointed based on their experience and interest in dealing with the children's court jurisdiction. The Governor may also appoint other district court judges to act as children's court judges. The Governor may appoint a

as a Children's Court magistrate. The governor may also appoint other stipendiary magistrates as acting children's court magistrates. The following are appointed as Children's Court judges as at April 2015: *John Robertson *Clive Wall RFD QC *Nicholas Samios *Deborah Richards * Sarah Bradley *Michael John Shanahan *Julie Dick SC *Paul Smith *Fleur Kingham *William Everson *Brian Devereaux SC *Brad Farr SC *Stuart Durward SC *John Baluch SC

Jurisdiction of Magistrates

A Children's Court

has jurisdiction: * to hear and determine all simple offences; * to hear and determine most indictable offences if the child consents to it; and * to conduct committal proceedings in relation to indictable offences. A Children's Court magistrate also has powers to hear Child Protection matters pursuant to the Child Protection Act 1999.

Who may attend

Generally children's court cases are held in a

closed court ''Closed Court'' (Hungarian: ''Zárt tárgyalás'') is a 1940 Hungarian drama film directed by Géza von Radványi and starring Maria von Tasnady, Antal Páger and Artúr Somlay.''Hungarian Studies Review: HSR., Volumes 20-22''. Hungarian Read ...

, although criminal offences dealt with by

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

are held in

open court Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (YF ...

. This is against the usual principle that all common law courts are open to public, and reflects that children are being dealt with inside the court. Cases are held at different times to any other case being heard by the court on the day. At a hearing, the following people may attend *the child; *their parent or other adult member of the child's family; *a witness giving evidence; *a person whose presence will provide emotional support to a witness; *certain welfare services; and *any other person who the court believes should be present.

Caseload

The Children's Court of Queensland as a whole (including Judges and Magistrates) dealt with 5,431 juveniles in 2005–06 compared with 6,996 in 2004-2005. This represents a 22.4% decrease in the number of defendants. There was a 9.8% decrease in the number of juveniles appearing before a Children's Court Judge. Furthermore, there was an overall decrease of 29.3% in the number of charges brought against juveniles in Queensland in 2005-2006, at 1,771, down from 16,656 in the previous year. According to its Annual Review, unlawful entry with intent and theft (and related offences) accounted for 44.1% of all charges. Children's Court Magistrates disposed of 93% of juvenile cases in 2005-2006.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Children's Court Of Queensland Queensland courts and tribunals Children's courts in Australia Courts and tribunals established in 1992 1992 establishments in Australia