VPRS 322 Court Of Petty Sessions Cause List Book

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（Courts of Petty Sessions），现称为治安法院（Magistrates' Courts），负责审理数量极为庞大的各类“小额”司法事务。其司法管辖范畴涵盖三类事项：刑事、民事与许可类事务。在19世纪，该类法庭是民事与刑事事务中最低层级的司法救济渠道。郡法院（County Court）与最高法院（Supreme Court）则负责审理更为重大的刑事案件及标的额更高的民事纠纷。在1886年专门的酒类许可法院（liquor Licensing Courts）设立之前，该类法庭的许可类司法管辖事项始终涵盖酒类与非酒类许可相关事宜。

后续陆续出台的《治安法官法》（Justices Acts）要求小额诉讼法庭的书记员留存该法庭所有裁决与命令的记录，此类记录为该法庭的权威官方档案。直至约1888年，用于记录此类事务的卷宗被称为“案由登记簿（Cause List Books）”，其中“cause”一词意为“案件”。绝大多数小额诉讼法庭会随案件发生依次受理刑事、民事与许可类事务，因此案由登记簿通常会详细记录上述所有类型的案件信息。仅规模最大、业务最繁忙的法庭才会将民事、刑事与许可类案件分别单独归档记录。

案由登记簿普遍采用统一格式：每页顶部均会记录法庭名称、开庭日期、法庭庭长及其他主审官员（presiding officer）的姓名信息；针对每一起已审理案件，登记簿会记录原告（complainant）、被告（defendant）的姓名、需缴纳的各类费用、案由（即刑事指控罪名或民事诉求的性质）、裁决结果及附注信息。附注栏有时会用于记录罚金或费用的缴纳情况。为确保案由登记簿中登记内容的真实性，法庭主审官员需于每日庭审结束后在登记簿上签字确认。