VPRS 5960 Court of Petty Sessions Cause List Book (1881-1888); Court of Petty Sessions Registers (1888-1966)

Courts of Petty Sessions (now known as Magistrates' Courts) dealt with a very large range of "minor" court matters. Cases were heard in three jurisdictions: criminal, civil, and licensing. In the nineteenth century they provided the lowest level of redress in civil and criminal matters. The County Court and the Supreme Court heard and determined more serious criminal cases and larger civil disputes. The licensing jurisdiction included both liquor and non-liquor licensing matters until 1886 when separate liquor Licensing Courts were established.Successive Justices Acts required clerks of Petty Sessions to keep a record of all decisions and orders made by Courts of Petty Sessions. This record is the authoritative record of the court. Until about 1888, volumes used for this purpose were called Cause List Books (a cause meaning a case). Most Courts of Petty Sessions dealt with criminal, civil and licensing matters as they arose. Accordingly, Cause List Books generally give details of all these types of cases. Only the largest and busiest courts recorded civil, criminal and licensing matters separately.Cause List Books are generally in a common format. At the top of each page are recorded details of the name of the court, the date of sitting and the name of the Chairman of the court and other presiding officer(s). For each case heard, details are given of the name of the complainant, defendant, any fees to be paid, the cause (ie the criminal charge or the nature of the civil claim), the decision and any remarks. The remarks column was sometimes used to record the payment of fines or fees. In order to authenticate entries made in the Cause List Book the presiding officer(s) of the court signed it at the end of each day.

小额诉讼法庭（现称治安法院）处理各类“轻微”法庭事务，涵盖范围极广。案件审理涉及三个管辖领域：刑事、民事及许可事务。19世纪时，该法庭是民事与刑事事务中最低层级的救济途径。郡法院与最高法院则负责审理并裁决更为严重的刑事案件及标的额更大的民事纠纷。许可事务管辖范围涵盖酒类与非酒类许可事宜，直至1886年独立的酒类许可法院成立为止。

历届《司法官法案》要求小额诉讼法庭书记员记录该法庭作出的所有裁决与命令。该记录是小额诉讼法庭裁决与命令的权威档案。直至1888年前后，用于记录此类内容的卷宗被称为《案由登记册》（Cause List Books，其中“cause”意为案件）。大多数小额诉讼法庭会根据案件发生情况，统一处理刑事、民事及许可事务。因此，《案由登记册》通常详细记录所有上述类型的案件。仅规模最大、事务最繁忙的法庭会对民事、刑事及许可事务进行分类记录。

《案由登记册》通常采用统一格式。每页顶部需记录法庭名称、开庭日期、法庭主席及其他主审官员姓名。对于每起审理的案件，需详细记录原告、被告姓名、应付费用、案由（即刑事指控或民事索赔性质）、裁决结果及备注信息。备注栏有时用于记录罚款或费用的缴纳情况。为确保《案由登记册》中条目的权威性，法庭主审官员需在每日庭审结束时签字确认。