VPRS 12696 Orders, Decrees and Reports

From 1841 to 1852 all Victorian Supreme Court cases were handled by the New South Wales Supreme Court, Port Phillip District under the Imperial Act 5 Vict No 9. It provided that the resident judge of the Port Phillip District should have exclusive jurisdiction to deal with civil and criminal cases. The Supreme Court had the same jurisdiction as that of the Lord High Chancellor in Equity. With the creation of the Supreme Court of Victoria (Act 15 Vict No 10) in 1852 the Master in Equity became a recognised officer in the Court in Victoria. In 1883, by the Supreme Court (Judicature) Act, the English legislation providing for the concurrent jurisdiction of law and equity came to apply in Victoria where previously the court was notionally divided into a court of law and a court of equity. The 1883 Act was later repealed, and was re-enacted with considerable procedural amendments by the Supreme Court Act 1890.This series consists of Orders, Decrees and Reports made in Equity cases after the passing of the Judicature Act 1883. Where previously these had been filed as separate series, they were now, due to the concurrent jurisdiction of law and equity and subsequent lower volume of documentation, filed as a single series.Orders may be concerned with the award of costs at the conclusion of a case; they involved applications under the Lunacy Act for persons to be declared lunatic by inquisition, matters related to the Insolvency Act, the Companies Act and the Trustees Act. They involved Orders for the delivery of relevant documents to the Master in Equity for a preparation of a report for the Court by the Master and other Orders made by the Court. Decrees made by the Court in the course of a case before it consisted of directions regarding the payment of costs, directions regarding the payment of damages and directions regarding the transfer of property from one party to another in a case. Decrees were enforceable by the Court and put into effect the judgment of the Court in a matter. Court Orders could demand that the Master prepare a report on certain matters relevant to the case before the Court to assist in determining the matter. In other matters, the Court could order the Master to take certain actions in relation to the matter before the Court and report to the Court.This series was formerly registered as Units 25 to 32 of VPRS 792 Orders and Decrees. It was reserialised in 2001 as part of the ARAD Project.

1841年至1852年间，所有维多利亚州最高法院（Supreme Court of Victoria）的案件均由依据《第5维多利亚年第9号帝国法令》（Imperial Act 5 Vict No 9）设立的新南威尔士州最高法院菲利普港区（Port Phillip District）分院管辖。该法令规定，菲利普港区的常驻法官享有审理民商事与刑事案件的专属管辖权，该法院享有与衡平法（Equity）领域大法官（Lord High Chancellor）同等的管辖权。
1852年，随着《第15维多利亚年第10号法令》（Act 15 Vict No 10）设立维多利亚州最高法院，衡平法主事官（Master in Equity）正式成为该法院的法定公职人员。
1883年，通过《最高法院（司法）法令》（Supreme Court (Judicature) Act），英国关于衡平法与普通法并行管辖权的立法正式适用于维多利亚州——此前该州法院在概念上被划分为普通法院与衡平法院（court of equity）。1883年法令后续被废止，并于1890年通过《1890年最高法院法令》（Supreme Court Act 1890）进行了大量程序修正后重新颁布。
本档案系列涵盖1883年《司法法令》（Judicature Act 1883）颁布后衡平法案件中产生的判令（Orders）、裁定（Decrees）与报告书（Reports）。此前此类文件曾被归为独立的档案系列，后因衡平法与普通法并行管辖权的确立，且后续归档文件数量减少，该系列被合并为单一档案系列。
判令可涉及案件审结后的诉讼费用裁定；其涵盖依据《精神错乱法》（Lunacy Act）提出的通过审讯程序（inquisition）认定公民为精神病人的申请，以及与《破产法》（Insolvency Act）、《公司法》（Companies Act）、《信托法》（Trustees Act）相关的各类事项。
此类判令还包括要求将相关文件移交衡平法主事官（Master in Equity），以供其为法院起草报告书的指令，以及法院作出的其他判令。
法院在案件审理过程中作出的裁定包括：诉讼费用缴纳指令、损害赔偿金支付指令，以及案件中当事人之间的财产转移指令。
裁定具有法院强制执行力，用于落实法院对特定事项的裁判结果。
法院判令可要求衡平法主事官（Master in Equity）就与待审案件相关的特定事项起草报告书，以协助法院对案件作出裁判。
在其他事项中，法院可指令主事官就待审案件采取特定行动，并向法院提交相关报告。
本档案系列原登记为VPRS 792号《判令与裁定》（Orders and Decrees）档案系列的第25至32单元，并于2001年作为ARAD项目（ARAD Project）的一部分进行了重新编号。