Federal Court of Australia
| Federal Court of Australia | |
|---|---|
|
In Melbourne, the Federal Court is housed with other federal courts such as the High Court and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia in the Federal Court Building on the corner of La Trobe Street and William Street | |
| Established | 1976 |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°52′8″S 151°12′42″E / 33.86889°S 151.21167°ECoordinates: 33°52′8″S 151°12′42″E / 33.86889°S 151.21167°E |
| Authorized by | Constitution of Australia Federal Court of Australia Act |
| Decisions are appealed to | High Court of Australia |
| Website |
fedcourt |
| Chief Justice | |
| Currently | James Allsop |
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record 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) criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges. The Court includes an appeal division referred to as the Full Court comprising three Judges, 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 the states and territories. In relation to the other Courts in the federal stream, it is equal to the Family Court of Australia, and superior to the Federal Circuit Court. It was established in 1976 by the Federal Court of Australia Act.
The Chief Justice of the Federal Court is James Allsop.
Jurisdictions
The Federal Court has no inherent jurisdiction. Its jurisdiction flows from statute.[1][2] 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.[3][4]
The Federal Court of Australia also has appellate jurisdiction from the Federal Circuit Court of Australia on all matters, with the exception of family law, where the Family Court of Australia has appellate jurisdiction.[5] The Court also exercises general appellate jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters on appeal from the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island;[3][4] and exercises appellate jurisdiction in appeals from State Supreme Courts in some federal matters.[6] Other federal courts and tribunals where the Court exercises appellate jurisdiction include the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority,[7] the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission,[8]
Current Judges of the Federal Court
Judges based in Sydney
- Steven Rares (2 February 2006)
- Robert Buchanan (8 September 2006)
- Geoffrey Flick (15 October 2007)
- Nye Perram (8 August 2008)
- Jayne Jagot (3 September 2008)
- Lindsay Foster (4 September 2008)
- John Nicholas (16 November 2009)
- David Yates (30 November 2009)
- Anna Katzmann (1 February 2010)[9]
- Alan Robertson (18 April 2011)
- John Griffiths (23 April 2012)
- Kathleen Farrell (5 December 2012)
- James Allsop (1 March 2013) (Chief Justice)
- Michael Wigney (9 September 2013)
- Melissa Perry (23 September 2013)
- Jacqueline Gleeson (15 April 2014)
- Brigitte Markovic (24 August 2015)
- Robert Bromwich (29 February 2016)
- Stephen Burley (23 May 2016)
Judges based in Melbourne
- Anthony North (3 October 1995)
- Susan Kenny (16 October 1998)
- Christopher Jessup (23 June 2006)
- Richard Tracey (24 July 2006)
- John Middleton (7 August 2006)
- Mordecai Bromberg (7 December 2009)
- Bernard Murphy (13 June 2011)
- Iain Ross (1 March 2012) (also President of Fair Work Australia)
- Tony Pagone (21 June 2013)
- Jennifer Davies (4 July 2013)
- Debra Mortimer (12 July 2013)
- Jonathan Beach (30 June 2014)
- Mark Moshinsky (3 November 2015)
Judges based in Brisbane
- John Dowsett (14 September 1998)
- Andrew Greenwood (4 August 2005)
- Berna Collier (8 February 2006)
- John Logan (27 September 2007)
- John Reeves (15 October 2007; based in Darwin until March 2009)[10]
- Darryl Rangiah (13 August 2013)
- James Edelman (20 April 2015)
Judges based in Perth
- Antony Siopis (14 April 2005)
- John Gilmour (11 December 2006)
- Neil McKerracher (15 October 2007)
- Michael Barker (9 February 2009)
Judges based in Adelaide
- Anthony Besanko (3 April 2006)
- Richard Conway White (31 August 2013)
- Natalie Charlesworth (1 March 2016)
Judges based in Hobart
- Duncan Kerr (10 May 2012) (also President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal)
See also
References
- ↑ Section 39B of the Judiciary Act (1903) (Cth)
- ↑ Section 19 of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth).
- 1 2 "The Court's Jurisdiction". Federal Court of Australia. November 2015.
- 1 2 Justice SC Kenny (28 October 2011). "The Evolving Jurisdiction of the Federal Court of Australia". Federal Court of Australia.
- ↑ Sections 24 (civil) and 30AA (criminal) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth).
- ↑ see for example section 565 of the Fair Work Act 2009.
- ↑ "James Hird's Federal Court appeal against ASADA investigation dismissed". ABC News. Australia. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ B.M.S. vs Australia, CERD/C/54/D/8/1996, cl. 2.6 (Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 12 March 1999) (“The Australian Government and the AMC appealed the decision of the HREOC. On 17 July 1996, the Federal Court of Australia ruled in their favour.”).
- ↑ "Biography of Justice Katzmann". Federal Court of Australia. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ↑ Byrnie, Gwen (24 September 2007). "Introducing the first Northern Territory-based Federal Court judge". Crikey. Retrieved 10 May 2016.