VPRS 2458 Court Of Petty Sessions Cause List Books

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.

小额裁判法院（Courts of Petty Sessions，现称治安法院(Magistrates' Courts)）受理范围覆盖极广的各类"小额"司法事务。其司法管辖范畴涵盖三类事务：刑事、民事与牌照许可类。在19世纪，该类法院是民事与刑事事务中最基层的救济渠道。郡法院(County Court)与最高法院则审理并裁决更为重大的刑事案件及涉案标的更大的民事纠纷。直至1886年单独的酒类牌照法院设立前，其牌照许可管辖范围同时涵盖酒类与非酒类牌照许可事务。
历次《治安法官法》(Justices Acts)均要求小额裁判法院的书记员留存该法院所有裁决与命令的记录，此类记录为该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"案由登记簿(Cause List Books)"（其中"cause"意指案件）。绝大多数小额裁判法院会随案受理刑事、民事及牌照许可类事务，因此案由登记簿通常会详细记录上述各类案件的相关信息。仅规模最大、业务最繁忙的法院才会将民事、刑事及牌照许可类事务分开记录。
案由登记簿通常采用统一格式：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。针对每起已审理案件，登记簿会记录投诉人、被告人的姓名，需缴纳的各类费用，案由（即刑事指控事由或民事请求的性质）、裁决结果及附加说明。附加说明栏有时会用于记录罚金或费用的缴纳情况。为确保登记簿中录入内容的真实性，法院主审法官需于每日庭审结束后在登记簿上签字。