Federal Court of Australia
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.
Original jurisdiction
The Federal Court has no inherent jurisdiction. Its jurisdiction flows from 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, and bankruptcy.
Appellate jurisdiction
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. The Court also exercises general appellate jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters on appeal from the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island. The Court also exercises appellate jurisdiction in appeals from State Supreme Courts in some federal matters.
Current Judges of the Federal Court
Judges based in Sydney
- Peter Jacobson (17 June 2002)
- Richard Edmonds (5 May 2005)
- 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)[1]
- Alan Robertson (18 April 2011)
- John Griffiths (23 April 2012)
- Kathleen Farrell (5 December 2012)
- James Allsop (1 March 2013)
- Michael Wigney (9 September 2013)
- Melissa Perry (23 September 2013)
- Jacqueline Gleeson (15 April 2014)
Judges based in Melbourne
- Shane Marshall (17 July 1995)
- 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)
- Michelle Gordon (20 April 2007)
- 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)
- Jonathon Beach (30 June 2014)
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)
- Darryl Rangiah (13 August 2013)
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
- John Mansfield (2 September 1996)
- Anthony Besanko (3 April 2006)
- Richard Conway White (31 August 2013)
Judges based in Hobart
- Duncan Kerr (10 May 2012) (also President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal)
See also
References
- ↑ "Biography of Justice Katzmann". Federal Court of Australia. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
External links
Coordinates: 33°52′08″S 151°12′42″E / 33.868924°S 151.211628°E