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Court hierarchy

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Court hierarchy

The common law doctrine of precedent is premised upon the hierarchical structure of the court system. This means that an understanding of the different elements of the hierarchy and how they relate to each other is an important component of case law research.

In Australia, there is a court hierarchy for each element of the federal system. Each state and territory has its own court hierarchy. Each of these courts deal with matters that arise out of the state or territorial jurisdiction, as well as some federal matters conferred by Commonwealth statute.

Federal courts have their own court hierarchy and deal with matters arising out of Commonwealth or national scheme legislation (section 77(iii) Commonwealth Constitution, and the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth)).

Tribunals, such as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) and the State Administrative Tribunal (WA) are not courts, but provide a 'quasi-judicial' function and have the task of making decisions in disputes. Appeals from tribunals to courts are binding and tribunals must follow the precedent of the court decision.

The diagram below shows an outline of the Australian courts and tribunals hierarchy. For a more detailed explanation of the relationships between the courts and tribunals, see the Australian Bureau of Statistics Year Book Australia, 2005.

This image displays a hierarchy of courts in Australia. At the top is the High Court of Australia, which is the highest court in the country. Directly below the High Court are three branches: The Full Court of the Federal Court; The Full Court/Court of Appeal of Supreme Courts; The Full Court of the Family Court. The Full Court of Federal Court branch leads to the Federal Court, which is one of the higher courts in the hierarchy. The Full Court/Court of Appeal of Supreme Courts branch has two sub-branches: a) Territory Supreme Courts b) State Supreme Courts The State Supreme Courts branch further leads to the State District/County Courts, which are lower courts. The Full Court of the Family Court branch splits into two: a) The Family Court of Australia (except WA) b) The WA Family Court Below these higher courts are the lower courts, which include: Federal Magistrates' Court Territory Magistrates' Courts (including Coroners' Courts and Children's Courts) State Magistrates' Courts (may exercise federal family laws) Coroners' Courts (independent) Children's Courts (independent) Electronic Courts The image uses solid arrows to indicate the flow of cases on appeal, and dashed lines to represent separations between state/territory or court jurisdictions.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005) '11.17 Hierarchy of courts' [diagram], Year Book Australia, 2005, accessed 02 May 2024.