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26-442: The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (more serious) criminal matters . Cases are heard at first instance mostly by single judges. In cases of importance, a full court comprising three judges can be convened upon determination by

52-893: A trial court, may hear appeals from administrative agencies such as the appeals board of the Department of Motor Vehicles or of the Department of Public Works. In Pennsylvania , the Superior Court is an appellate court , hearing appeals of criminal cases and private civil cases from the Pennsylvania courts of common pleas . In New Jersey , the Superior Court comprises the Law Division and Chancery Division (trial courts of general jurisdiction, hearing cases at law and in equity respectively, with cases assigned to different parts of each court by legislation and court rule), and an Appellate Division that hears appeals from

78-499: Is not specially designated to be heard in some other courts. California , Connecticut , Washington , Maine , the District of Columbia , and Georgia are all examples of such jurisdictions. In other states, equivalent courts are also known as courts of common pleas ( Pennsylvania , Ohio , and others), circuit courts ( Illinois , Michigan , Oregon and others), district courts ( Louisiana , Texas , Hawaii and others) or, in

104-639: Is solely an appellate court , hearing appeals from the High Courts. The Constitutional Court is primarily an appellate court, hearing appeals on constitutional matters from the Supreme Court of Appeal or in some cases directly from the High Courts. The Constitutional Court also occasionally acts as a court of first instance in certain cases involving the constitutionality of laws and government actions. There are also specialist superior courts with exclusive jurisdiction over certain matters; these include

130-466: The Criminal Code . They also have jurisdiction of judicial review over administrative decisions by provincial or territorial government entities such as labour boards, human rights tribunals and licensing authorities. The superior courts of appeal hear appeals from the superior courts of original jurisdiction, as well as from the inferior courts and administrative tribunals. The jurisdiction of

156-557: The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia on all general federal law matters ( family law matters are appealed to Division 1 of that Court). The Court also exercises general appellate jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters on appeal from the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island ; and exercises appellate jurisdiction in appeals from state supreme courts in some federal matters. Other federal courts and tribunals where

182-624: The High Courts , the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court . The High Courts are courts of first instance with general jurisdiction ; they can hear all cases except those where exclusive jurisdiction is granted by law to another court. Most cases are, however, tried in the magistrates' courts or other lower courts, and appeals from these courts are heard by the High Court. The Supreme Court of Appeal

208-1052: The Labour Court , the Labour Appeal Court , the Electoral Court and the Land Claims Court . The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the High Court of England and Wales, and the Crown Court of England and Wales are all superior courts of record. In a number of jurisdictions in the United States , the Superior Court is a state trial court of general jurisdiction with power to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which

234-561: The Maine District Court in certain types of cases, as well as appeals from most state and municipal agencies. Industrial Relations Court of Australia The Industrial Relations Court of Australia was a short-lived Chapter III Court whose jurisdiction was transferred from the Federal Court in 1994, and transferred back in 1997. In the words of former Chief Justice Robert French , "The tide went in,

260-643: The Superior Courts of California after 1998. The lower courts now exist only as mere administrative subdivisions of the superior courts. The superior courts are legally no longer superior to any other trial courts. Thus, the term "superior court" persists in California only as a matter of tradition. Similarly, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia is the sole local trial court, and what would be inferior courts are divisions of that court, but, as

286-593: The "superior courts", and lower courts whose decisions could be reviewed by the royal courts became known as "inferior courts". The decisions of the superior courts were not reviewable or appealable unless an appeal was created by statute. Superior Courts in Canada exist at the federal, provincial and territorial levels. The provincial and territorial superior courts of original jurisdiction are courts of general jurisdiction: all legal matters fall within their jurisdiction, unless assigned elsewhere by statute passed by

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312-644: The Chief Justice. The Court also has appellate jurisdiction, which is mostly exercised by a Full Court comprising three judges (although sometimes by a panel of five judges and sometimes by a single judge), the only avenue of appeal from which lies to the High Court of Australia . In the Australian court hierarchy , the Federal Court occupies a position equivalent to the supreme courts of each of

338-766: The Court exercises appellate jurisdiction include the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission . The Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court and Northern Territory Supreme Court over civil matters arising under those Territories' laws. It also has the power to interpret the Constitution . The jurisdiction of

364-468: The Federal Court of Australia includes the jurisdiction previously exercised by three former federal courts, the Federal Court of Bankruptcy , Commonwealth Industrial Court and Industrial Relations Court of Australia . The Federal Court of Bankruptcy had jurisdiction in bankruptcy matters and was created in 1930. The jurisdiction in bankruptcy was transferred to the Federal Court of Australia on its establishment in 1977. The Commonwealth Industrial Court

390-438: The appropriate legislative authority. Their jurisdiction typically includes civil lawsuits involving contracts, torts, property, and family law. They also have jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions for indictable offences under the Criminal Code of Canada. They also hear civil appeals from decisions of the provincial and territorial "inferior" courts, as well as appeals from those courts in summary conviction matters under

416-577: The authority of their respective territorial acts passed by the federal Parliament . The judges of the Federal Courts are appointed by the federal government under the authority of the Federal Courts Act . In Hong Kong, the Court of Final Appeal, the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance (the latter two form the High Court of Hong Kong ), are all superior courts of record. The general superior courts of South Africa are

442-464: The case of New York , the Supreme Court . The term "superior court" raises the obvious question of superior to what . Formerly, many jurisdictions had inferior trial courts of limited jurisdiction such as municipal courts, traffic courts, and justice of the peace courts, so it was natural to call the next level of courts "superior." However, some states, like California, have unified their court systems. In California, all lower courts were absorbed into

468-638: The other two parts. The Criminal Part of the Law Division and the Family Party of the Chancery Division of the Superior Court also hear appeals from the New Jersey municipal courts, courts with limited jurisdiction to hear lower-order criminal cases and to grant temporary restraining orders in domestic-violence cases. In Maine , the Superior Court is both a trial court of general jurisdiction and an appellate court that considers appeals from

494-765: The states and territories. In relation to the other courts in the federal stream, it is superior to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for all jurisdictions except family law . It was established in 1976 by the Federal Court of Australia Act. The Chief Justice of the Federal Court is Debra Mortimer . The Federal Court has no constitutional jurisdiction- its jurisdiction is provided by statute. The Court's original jurisdiction include matters arising from Commonwealth legislation such as, for example, matters relating to taxation, trade practices, native title, intellectual property, industrial relations, corporations, immigration and bankruptcy. The Federal Court of Australia also has appellate jurisdiction from Division 2 of

520-511: The superior courts of appeal are entirely statutory. The details of their jurisdiction will vary depending on the laws passed by the federal government and the particular province or territory. All judges of the superior courts are appointed by the federal government. Judges of provincial superior courts are appointed under the authority of the Constitution Act, 1867 , while judges of the territorial superior courts are appointed under

546-492: The tide went out". Every judge had a concurrent appointment in the Federal Court. Despite the transfer of jurisdiction, any existing matter or appeal from an existing matter remained in the Industrial Relations Court of Australia, with the result that the last case was not finally disposed of until 2005/6. The Court was not to be abolished until after the last judge had retired. The last judge to retire

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572-564: Was Anthony North on 11 September 2018. The court was formally abolished on 1 March 2021. The court was the latest in a line of specialist federal courts dealing with industrial relations matters, being the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration (1904–1956), whose court and arbitration functions were divided as a result of the Boilermakers' case , succeeded by Commonwealth Industrial Court (1956–1973), which

598-559: Was established in 1956 as a result of the Boilermaker's case , where the High Court held that a Chapter III Court could not exercise a non-judicial power, the arbitral function, because of the constitutional separation of powers in Australia . The judicial functions were given to the newly created Commonwealth Industrial Court and the arbitral functions were given to Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission . The court

624-551: Was formally abolished on 1 March 2021. Superior court The term "superior court" has its origins in the English court system. The royal courts were the highest courts in the country, with what would now be termed supervisory jurisdiction over baronial and local courts. Decisions of those courts could be reviewed by the royal courts, as part of the Crown's role as the ultimate fountain of justice. The royal courts became known as

650-575: Was renamed as the Australian Industrial Court (1973–1977). The last remaining judge of the Australian Industrial Court, Ray Northrop was appointed to the new court. The creation of a specialist court was controversial, with academics Breen Creighton and Andrew Stewart stating that it was not clear that the creation of the court would serve any useful purpose. One of those opposed to the creation of

676-615: Was renamed the Australian Industrial Court in 1973. In 1977 the jurisdiction of the Australian Industrial Court was transferred to the Federal Court of Australia. In 1993 the industrial relations jurisdiction of the Federal Court of Australia was transferred to the Industrial Relations Court of Australia , and transferred back to the Federal Court of Australia in 1996. The last judge of the Industrial Relations Court, Anthony North , retired in September 2018. The court

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