The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the

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 ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Founded in 1852, it is a

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

and

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

, with unlimited and

inherent Inherence refers to Empedocles' idea that the qualities of matter come from the relative proportions of each of the four elements entering into a thing. The idea was further developed by Plato and Aristotle. Overview That Plato accepted (or ...

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

within the state. The Supreme Court comprises two divisions: the Trial Division, which oversees its

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the Sup ...

, and the Court of Appeal, which deals with its

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 ...

, and is frequently referred to as a court in its own right. Although the Supreme Court is theoretically vested with unlimited jurisdiction, it generally only hears, at trial, criminal cases in instances of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, and civil cases where the statement of claim is in excess of the

Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cour ...

limit of $100,000. The court hears appeals from the

County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

, as well as limited appeals from the

. Decisions of the Supreme Court are appealable to the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

. The

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

itself is on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court has two divisions - the Trial Division and the Court of Appeal.

Trial Division

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

(whose civil jurisdictional limit is $100,000) or

(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 offence In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...

s such as treason. The Commercial Court is a sub-division of the Trial Division, composed of specialist judges to deal with commercial disputes.

Court of Appeal

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. Front facade of the Supreme Court of Victoria

Front facade of the Supreme Court of Victoria

Supreme Court of Victoria Front Entrance

Supreme Court of Victoria Library Tower Dome

Locations

The main buildings for the Supreme Court are located at the corner of William and Lonsdale Streets in Melbourne and in nearby buildings. The Supreme Court also does circuits to

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (Al ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...

Shepparton Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had an estimated urban population of 19,318 at June 2018. Wangaratta has recorded a population growth rate of almost 1% annually ...

Wodonga Wodonga (Pallanganmiddang language, Waywurru: ''Wordonga'') is a city on the Victoria (Australia), Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of ...

, Sale and

Morwell Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the seat of local governme ...

. In these locations the Court uses the facilities of the local Magistrates' Court.

Current judges

(appointment date in brackets):

Chief Justice

* Anne Ferguson (Trial Division from 3 May 2010; Court of Appeal from 12 August 2014)

President of the Court of Appeal

Karin Emerton Karin Leigh Emerton (born 6 May 1957) is a justice of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia. Emerton is a graduate of the University of Sydney and University of New South Wales in Australia, and completed a doctorat ...

(Trial Division from 13 October 2009; Court of Appeal from 10 July 2018; 16 July 2022)

Judges of the Court of Appeal

Phillip Priest Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

(23 October 2012) * David Beach (Trial Division from 5 September 2008; 22 October 2013) *

Emilios Kyrou Emilios Kyrou is a judge of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria, in the Australian state of Victoria. Justice Kyrou was previously a justice in the Trial Division. Until being appointed, Kyrou was a partner at Mallesons Stephen Jaq ...

(Trial Division from 15 May 2008; 29 July 2014) *

Stephen Kaye Stephen William Kaye (born 1951) is a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. He was appointed to the bench on 16 December 2003, serving as a judge of the Trial Division until his appointment the Court of Appeal in 2015. On 1 February 2022 the At ...

(Trial Division from 2003; 3 February 2015) *

Stephen McLeish Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

(5 March 2015) * Richard Niall (28 November 2017) *

Terry Forrest Terence Michael "Terry" Forrest is a justice of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia. Forrest was admitted to the legal profession in 1979 and was appointed Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Com ...

(Trial Division from 13 October 2009; 10 July 2018) *

Michael Sifris Michael Sifris is a Trials Division justice at the Supreme Court of Victoria. In his career he practiced as a solicitor in both South Africa and Australia. He is a former partner of Schwarz, Goldblatt, Bloch & Gross, and is a graduate of the gradu ...

(Trial Division from 19 July 2010; 2 June 2020) * Maree Kennedy (Trial Division from 25 July 2016; 15 December 2020) * Kristen Walker (3 May 2021) *

Cameron Macaulay Cameron Macaulay is a judge of appeal of (as of 1 February 2022) the Supreme Court of Victoria. He went to Camberwell Grammar School, became a practicing lawyer in 1980, and is a graduate of the law school at Monash University Monash Universi ...

(Trial Division from 2010; 1 February 2022)

Judges of the Trial Division

Elizabeth Hollingworth Elizabeth Hollingworth is a Trials Division justice at the Supreme Court of Victoria. She was appointed to the bench in June 2004, after a 15-year career as a lawyer beginning in 1989. In June 2014, Hollingworth made an order banning any repo ...

(7 June 2004) *

Anthony Cavanough Anthony Cavanough is a Trials Division justice at the Supreme Court of Victoria. He is a graduate of the law program at Monash University and was called to the bar in 1979. He was appointed to the bench in 2009. References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ca ...

(8 May 2006) * John Dixon (16 September 2010) *

(22 September 2010) * Kate McMillan (8 March 2012) * Geoffrey John Digby (19 November 2012) * James Dudley Elliott (25 March 2013) * Timothy James Ginnane (4 June 2013) *

Melanie Sloss Melanie Sloss is an Australian Judge in the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria and sits as a judge of the Commercial Court. Sloss was first admitted to practice in Western Australia in 1980 and in Victoria in 1985. She was appoin ...

(30 July 2013) * Michael Croucher (30 July 2013) * Christopher William Beale (2 September 2014) * Michael Phillip McDonald (16 September 2014) * Rita Incerti (3 February 2015) * Peter Julian Riordan (10 March 2015) * Jane Dixon (17 August 2015) * Andrew John Keogh (4 April 2016) * Peter Barrington Kidd (24 May 2016) * Michelle Quigley (19 December 2017) * Matthew Connock (10 April 2018) * Melinda Richards (24 April 2018) *

Kevin Lyons Kevin Orchard Lyons (7 February 1923 – 24 May 2000) was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the seat of Darwin (later renamed Braddon). Biography Early life Born in 1923 in Hobart, he was the ...

(22 May 2018) * Lesley Taylor (10 July 2018) * Steven Moore (10 July 2018) * Andrew Tinney (10 July 2018) * Jacinta Forbes (16 April 2019) * Lisa Nichols (22 October 2019) * Christopher James Delany (2 June 2020) * Kathryn Stynes (22 June 2020) * James Gorton (15 December 2020) * Michael Osborne (15 December 2020) *Stephen O'Meara (18 May 2021) *Richard Attiwill (18 May 2021)

References

Notes

External links

Official Supreme Court of Victoria website

Judges - Historic List

Supreme Court Act (The Act which governs the Supreme Court)
(pdf 459kb) {{Authority control Victoria (Australia) courts and tribunals 1852 establishments in Australia Courts and tribunals established in 1852