The Norfolk Island Court of Petty Sessions was created by the Court of Petty Sessions Act 1960 (Norfolk Island), and is the equivalent of most Australian mainland Magistrates' Courts or Local Courts.

Role

The Chief Magistrate of

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together wit ...

is usually the office holder from time to time of the Chief Magistrate of the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

(ACT). The Court of Petty Sessions usually sits once a month on Norfolk Island to deal with any pending criminal matters of a summary or regulatory nature. The Court can be convened by telephone/audio link up for more serious matters likely to require a

committal hearing In law, a committal procedure is the process by which a defendant is charged with a serious offence under the criminal justice systems of all common law jurisdictions except the United States. The committal procedure, sometimes known as a prelim ...

and eventual trial in the

Supreme Court of Norfolk Island The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island is the superior court for the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. (NI) s 5 Jurisdiction of ...

. Usually three Justices of the Peace or Magistrates appointed or resident locally on Norfolk Island sit as the Court of Petty Sessions in its ordinary sessions. The jurisdiction of the Court of Petty Sessions of Norfolk Island generally includes minor civil claims up to $10,000AUD and criminal matters of a

summary may refer to: * Abstract (summary), shortening a passage or a write-up without changing its meaning but by using different words and sentences * Epitome, a summary or miniature form * Abridgement, the act of reducing a written work into a sho ...

or regulatory nature (unless they are committal hearings) as well as minor

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage ...

applications.

References

Norfolk Island courts and tribunals 1960 establishments in Australia Courts and tribunals established in 1960 {{Australia-law-stub