VPRS 3120 Court Of Mines Register

Courts of Mines were constituted in each mining district. Although there was only one Court of Mines constituted in each district, the court may have sat at several different locations. Each Court of Mines was presided over by a Judge who was usually also a County Court Judge. Courts of Mines heard and ruled upon a wide range of mining related disputes including disputes over the entitlements of partners, shareholders and employees of mining enterprises. They also acted as courts of appeal against decisions of Mining Wardens regarding territory-related matters such as disputes about the boundaries of claims and leases. Courts of Mines were not responsible for issuing Miner's Rights, surveying or registering claims or granting mining leases. These activities were the responsibility of district mining officials.Courts of Mines continued to operate until 1969, although the volume of business diminished in the twentieth century. In 1969 the Mines (Abolition of Courts) Act abolished Courts of Mines and transferred their jurisdiction to County Courts.A register of the decrees (orders) of the Court of Mines was kept at each place the Court sat. For example, in the Beechworth Mining District separate registers are known to have been kept at Alexandra, Yackandandah, Beechworth, Bright and Mansfield.Court of Mines Registers record details of the number and date of each complaint or case before the court, the names and addresses of the plaintiff and defendant, the nature of the complaint, the amount or value of the complaint, details of court fees, the decree (ie. order), date of carrying out the order and other remarks.

各矿业辖区均设立矿业法院（Court of Mines）。尽管每个辖区仅设一家矿业法院，但该法院可在多个不同地点开庭审理案件。每家矿业法院均由一名法官主持，该法官通常同时兼任郡法院法官。矿业法院审理并裁决各类与矿业相关的纠纷，包括矿业企业合伙人、股东与雇员的权益纠纷。此外，矿业法院还可作为上诉法院，受理针对矿业监管员（Mining Wardens）就地域相关事项作出的裁决的上诉，例如矿权主张与租赁协议的边界纠纷。矿业法院不负责发放矿工权证（Miner's Right）、测绘或登记矿权主张，也不批准采矿租赁协议，此类事务由辖区矿业官员负责。矿业法院一直运作至1969年，尽管其业务量在20世纪已呈缩减趋势。1969年，《矿业（法院撤销）法案》（Mines (Abolition of Courts) Act）正式废止矿业法院，并将其全部司法管辖权移交至郡法院。矿业法院的裁决令登记册留存于该法院各开庭地点。例如，在比奇沃斯矿业辖区，已知曾在亚历山德拉、亚坎丹达、比奇沃斯、布莱特和曼斯菲尔德分别留存有独立的登记册。矿业法院登记册记录了该法院受理的每起投诉或案件的编号与受理日期、原告与被告的姓名及住址、投诉事由、投诉涉及的金额或价值、诉讼费用详情、裁决令（即正式判决）、裁决执行日期及其他备注信息。