VPRS 5231 Court of Petty Sessions Cause List Books (1861-1888); Court of Petty Sessions Magistrates Court Registers (1888-1967)

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.

小额诉讼法院（Courts of Petty Sessions，现称为治安法院（Magistrates' Courts））受理范围极广的“轻微”司法事务。其管辖三类案件：刑事、民事及许可类案件。19世纪时，该类法院是民事与刑事事务中最低层级的救济途径。郡法院（County Court）与最高法院（Supreme Court）则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。直至1886年设立独立的酒类许可法院（liquor Licensing Courts）之前，许可类管辖范围涵盖酒类与非酒类许可事务。
后续颁布的《治安法官法案》（Justices Acts）要求小额诉讼法院的书记员留存该法院所有裁决与命令的记录。此类记录为法院的官方权威档案。直至约1888年，用于该用途的卷宗被称为“案件目录簿（Cause List Books）”，其中“cause”意为“案件”。绝大多数小额诉讼法院会依案件发生类型同步受理刑事、民事及许可类事务。因此，案件目录簿通常会记录上述三类案件的详细信息。仅规模最大、业务最繁忙的法院才会将三类案件分别归档记录。
案件目录簿（Cause List Books）通常采用统一格式。每页顶部会记录法院名称、开庭日期、法院庭长及其他主审法官的姓名。对于每起已审理的案件，其记录内容包括原告、被告姓名、应缴费用、案件事由（即刑事指控罪名或民事诉求性质）、裁决结果及备注信息。备注栏有时会用于记录罚金或费用的缴纳情况。为确保案件目录簿中录入条目真实有效，法院主审法官需于每日庭审结束后在簿册上签字认证。