VPRS 1679 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.

小额诉讼法院（Courts of Petty Sessions），现称为治安法院（Magistrates' Courts），受理范围极广的“轻微”法庭事务。案件审理涵盖三类司法管辖范畴：刑事、民事及许可类事务。19世纪时期，该类法院是民事与刑事事务中最低层级的救济渠道。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年独立的酒类许可法院设立前，许可类司法管辖范畴同时涵盖酒类与非酒类许可事务。后续陆续出台的多部《治安法官法》（Justices Acts）要求小额诉讼法院的书记员留存所有法庭裁决与命令的记录，此类记录为法庭的权威档案。1888年以前，用于该用途的卷宗被称为“诉讼案由登记簿（Cause List Books）”，此处“案由（cause）”即指案件。绝大多数小额诉讼法院会随案受理刑事、民事及许可类事务，因此诉讼案由登记簿通常会记录上述所有类型案件的详情。仅规模最大、业务最繁忙的法庭才会将民事、刑事及许可类事务分别单独记录。诉讼案由登记簿通常采用统一格式。每页顶部会记录法庭名称、开庭日期、法庭庭长及其他主审官员的姓名。对于每一起已审理的案件，登记簿会详细记录投诉人、被告人姓名、应缴费用、案由（即刑事指控内容或民事诉求性质）、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。为核验登记簿中录入条目的真实性，法庭主审官员需在每日庭审结束后签字确认。