The Magistrates Court of Western Australia is the first tier court in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

, a state of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. It has jurisdiction in respect of criminal and civil matters, as well as a range of administrative matters. The court came into existence in May 2005 and was the result of the amalgamation of the

Court of Petty Sessions of Western Australia A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

, Small Claims Tribunal of Western Australia, and the

Local Court of Western Australia Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administra ...

History

The amalgamation of the three courts followed from recommendations made by the

Law Reform Commission of Western Australia The Law Reform Commission of Western Australia is a commission to investigate, review and advise on the reform of the law in Western Australia, a state of Australia. The present commission came into existence on 31 October 1972. History There ...

. The amalgamation also occurred at a time when changes were made to the appointments of

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sam ...

, appointment of

magistrates 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 judic ...

and civil procedure in the state by widening the options available for enforcing bad debts.Second reading speech by WA Attorney General 4 December 2003 The reforms envisaged that the jurisdiction of the court for civil claims would increase from $25,000 to $50,000 as well as the ability for the chief magistrate to establish divisions in the court to deal with specific classes of offenders, such as by establishment of a drug court or a

family violence court Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

Jurisdiction

The court is constituted under th
Magistrates Court Act 2004 (WA)
It is an inferior court and it is also 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 record ...

. The court has a civil jurisdiction under th
Magistrates Court (Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (WA)
The court exercises the criminal jurisdiction which a court of petty sessions previously had or which a court of summary jurisdiction could have exercised prior to the creation of the court. The court also deals with cases under th

the Dividing fences act, Disposal of uncollected goods and extraordinary drivers licence applications. The court can also exercise any jurisdiction conferred upon it.

Composition

The

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutiona ...

can appoint magistrates to the court. The governor can also appoint a chief magistrate, as well as deputy chief magistrates. The court normally sits with a magistrate sitting alone. However, the governor may make a regulation which allows a single justice of the peace or two justices of the peace to sit as the court.

Caseload

About 43,000 civil cases are filed each year in the court.

References

*Homepage of the court: http://www.magistratescourt.wa.gov.au/ *Second Reading speech in the WA Legislative Assembly on 3 December 2003 http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/hansard/hans35.nsf/NFS/366d64cc69626ae348256df70022dcec? *Magistrates Court Act 2004 (WA) http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/mca2004214/

External links

* {{Government of Western Australia Western Australian courts and tribunals Courthouses in Perth, Western Australia 2005 establishments in Australia Courts and tribunals established in 2005