VPRS 5422 Court Of Mines Registers

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.

各采矿区均设立矿山法庭（Courts of Mines）。尽管每个采矿区仅设有一家矿山法庭，但该法庭可在多个不同地点开庭审理案件。每家矿山法庭由一名法官主持，该法官通常同时兼任郡法院法官。
矿山法庭审理并裁决各类与采矿相关的纠纷，包括采矿企业合伙人、股东与雇员的权益争议。同时，针对采矿监管员（Mining Wardens）就矿区相关事项作出的裁决，矿山法庭亦可作为上诉法院受理上诉，例如矿区主张与租赁合约的边界纠纷。
矿山法庭不负责发放矿工权利证（Miner's Rights）、勘测或登记矿区主张，亦不负责批准采矿租赁合约，上述职能由各矿区采矿官员承担。
尽管20世纪时矿山法庭的业务量有所缩减，但该机构一直运作至1969年。1969年，《矿山（撤销法庭）法案》（Mines (Abolition of Courts) Act）正式撤销矿山法庭，并将其司法管辖权移交至郡法院。
矿山法庭的裁决令登记册会留存于该法庭的各个开庭地点。例如，在比奇沃思采矿区（Beechworth Mining District），已知其分别在亚历山德拉（Alexandra）、亚坎丹达（Yackandandah）、比奇沃思、布赖特（Bright）和曼斯菲尔德（Mansfield）留存了独立的登记册。
矿山法庭登记册会记录以下详细信息：法庭受理的每起投诉或案件的编号与日期、原告与被告的姓名及住址、投诉事由、投诉涉及的金额或标的价值、法庭费用明细、裁决令（即法院判决）、裁决令执行日期以及其他备注信息。