The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate 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 ...

n state of

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 ...

. It is equivalent to district courts in the

other states Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

. The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and civil jurisdiction. The court hears

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 (with the exception 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 ...

, and

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 has unlimited civil jurisdiction, though it generally only hears cases where the statement of claim exceeds 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 Cou ...

limit of $100,000. The court also possesses

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 ...

for cases from the

, while decisions of the County Court may be appealed to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. With approximately 70 sitting judges, the court hears up to 12,000 cases annually.

Peter Kidd Peter Barrington Kidd SC (born 4 October 1965) is an Australian jurist. He has served as Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria since 8 September 2015, and as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria since 24 May 2016. As chief judge o ...

was named

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of the County Court on 8 September 2015.

History

The County Court was first established in

in 1852 by the ''County Courts Act 1852''. A County Court operated in the County of Bourke and some regional towns. The County Courts were modelled on the British county courts, which were established in 1846. Originally, the Court's principal purpose was to handle small civil claims. Since that time, the Court's jurisdiction has expanded.

Jurisdiction

In the hierarchy of Victorian courts, the County Court of Victoria sits above the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria and below the Supreme Court of Victoria. Judges of the County Court hear matters across three divisions – Criminal, Commercial and Common Law. County Court judges also sit as the heads of jurisdiction at the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria,

Coroners Court of Victoria The name of "Coroners Court" is the generic name given to proceedings in which a Coroner holds an inquest in Victoria. Jurisdiction Coroners have jurisdiction over the remains of a person and the power to make findings in respect of the cause ...

and the Children’s Court of Victoria and sit at the

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the ''Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act'' 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the Tribunal sits 'below' the Magistrat ...

as Vice-Presidents.

Criminal Division

The County Court hears all indictable criminal matters except treason, murder and certain other homicide offences. The Court deals with a broad range of offences under Victorian and Commonwealth legislation including serious theft, armed robbery, drug trafficking, sexual offences, fraud and dishonesty offences, culpable driving, serious assault and income and sales tax offences. All trials are heard before a judge and a jury of 12 members of the community.

Criminal appeals

The County Court hears criminal appeals from the Magistrates’ Court. These appeals are determined by judge alone. An appeal decision is generally final, except when a sentence of imprisonment is imposed and the Magistrates’ Court did not originally impose a sentence of imprisonment. In such a case, the appellant may then appeal to the Court of Appeal, so long as leave is granted. The County Court also hears appeals from the Criminal and Family Divisions of the Children’s Court.

Commercial and Common Law Divisions

The Court’s Commercial and Common Law Divisions (collectively known as the Court’s civil jurisdiction), have unlimited jurisdiction with no monetary cap on damages. Both divisions feature a number of ‘lists’ – specialist categories of cases that are administered by a judge. The Commercial Division deals with matters that include debt recovery, contract, trust and property. It has four lists: * General List * Expedited List * Banking and Finance List * Building Cases List The Common Law Division largely deals with damages and compensation cases. It consists of eight lists: * Applications List * Confiscation List * Defamation List * Family Property List * General List * Medical List * Serious Injury Applications List * WorkCover List All civil matters are heard by a single judge or, at a party’s request, by a judge and jury.

Adoption and Substitute Parentage

In Victoria, an adoption order legally transfers parental rights and responsibilities, guardianship and custody to the adoptive parents. The County Court hears approximately 50-80 adoption and parentage matters annually.

Circuits

In addition to proceedings in Melbourne, County Court judges hear criminal and civil cases at 12 locations throughout Victoria: Bairnsdale, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Horsham, Mildura, Latrobe Valley (Morwell), Sale, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Warrnambool and Wodonga.

Koori Court

Th
County Koori Court
was established under the ''County Court Amendment (Koori Court) Act 2008'. '' The Act was assented to on 23 September 2008 and established the Koori Court as a Division of the County Court. The Latrobe Valley County Koori Court commenced on 19 November 2008, with the first sitting taking place on 2 February 2009. The objective of the County Koori Court is to ensure greater participation of the Aboriginal community in the sentencing process through the role played in that process by the Aboriginal Elders and Respected Persons and others such as the Koori Court Officer. It is only the judge who determines the sentence that is imposed. The County Koori Court follows the

Koori Court A Koori Court is a separate division of the Magistrates', County and Children's Courts of Victoria, Australia. The Koori Court (Magistrates), Children's Koori Court, and County Koori Court hear selected cases, where Indigenous Australians have ...

model introduced at the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria and the Children’s Court of Victoria. The County Koori Court currently sits at Latrobe Valley (Morwell), Melbourne, Mildura and Shepparton. The County Koori Court can only be attended by Koori offenders who plead guilty to particular offences. Aboriginal Elders or Respected Persons advise the judge on cultural issues relating to the accused and his or her offending behaviour. Elders and Respected Persons provide information on the background of the accused and possible reasons for offending behaviour. They may also explain relevant kinship connections, how particular crimes have affected the Indigenous community and provide advice on cultural practices, protocols and perspectives relevant to sentencing. The same sentencing law, however, applies in the County Koori Court as applies in the mainstream County Court.

Chief Judge of the County Court of Victoria

was appointed County Court Chief Judge on 8 September 2015. Kidd is a member of the Courts Council, and a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Past Chief Judges of the County Court of Victoria: * Michael Rozenes 2002 – 2015 * Glenn Waldron 1982 – 2002 * Desmond Whelan 1975 – 1981

References

External links

County Court of Victoria
{{Australian Courts Victoria (Australia) courts and tribunals 1852 establishments in Australia Courts and tribunals established in 1852