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Court Structure Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court is the superior Court in Victoria. It is divided into the Court of Appeal and the Trial Division.

Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal was established under the Constitution (Court of Appeal) Act 1994 and proclaimed to commence on 7 June 1995. The Court of Appeal is a Division of the Supreme Court and comprises the Chief Justice, the President and currently nine Judges of Appeal, plus any additional Judges of Appeal appointed or acting under s. 80B of the Constitution Act 1975.

The Court of Appeal hears appeals from Criminal and Civil trials heard by Judges of the Supreme Court and the County Court. It also hears appeals from proceedings which have come before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and other Tribunals. Procedure before the Court is governed by Acts of Parliament, Rules of Court and Practice Statements. Some Appeals require Leave of a Judge or Leave of the Court of Appeal before a Notice of Appeal can be filed

Trial Division

The Trial Division consists of the Chief Justice and generally about 20 other Judges. Associate Judges assist the Judges in discharging the Civil work of the Trial Division.

The Trial Division is divided into three Divisions:

• the Commercial and Equity Division;
• the Common Law Division; and
• the Criminal Division.

Proceedings are entered into one of these Divisions at commencement. Each Division has a "head of Division" being a Judge whose role it is to manage the work of the Division in addition to his/her judicial duties. (Refer to Practice Note No. 4 of 1999 for more detail about the work of the Divisions).

The types of cases heard and determined by the Trial Division include:

• all cases of treason, murder, attempted murder and other major criminal matters;
• civil cases involving large claims, generally over $200,000;
• some appeals and reviews of decisions of inferior courts and tribunals; and
• various other cases, such as applications for bail, winding up of companies, probate business and urgent applications for injunctions.