VPRS 3130 Court of Petty Sessions Cause List Books (1867-1888); Court of Petty Sessions Registers (1888-1897)

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.

简易裁判法院（Courts of Petty Sessions，现称为治安法院Magistrates' Courts）负责审理范围极广的各类轻微司法事务。案件审理涵盖三类司法管辖范畴：刑事、民事及牌照事务。在19世纪，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）则负责审理并裁决更为严重的刑事案件及标的额更高的民事纠纷。其牌照管辖范畴曾涵盖酒类与非酒类牌照相关事务，直至1886年独立的酒类牌照法院设立为止。

历任《治安法官法》（Justices Acts）均要求简易裁判法院的书记员留存该法院作出的全部裁决与命令的记录，该记录为法院的权威官方档案。在约1888年之前，用于该用途的卷宗被称为“案由登记簿（Cause List Books）”，其中“案由（cause）”即指代案件。大多数简易裁判法院会依案件发生的类型同步处理刑事、民事及牌照事务，因此案由登记簿通常会详细记录上述所有类型的案件。仅规模最大、业务最繁忙的法院才会将民事、刑事及牌照事务分开单独记录。

案由登记簿通常采用统一的格式规范。每页顶部会记录法院名称、开庭日期、法院庭长及其他主审官员的姓名。针对每起已审理的案件，登记簿会记录投诉人、被告人的姓名，应缴费用明细，案由（即刑事指控内容或民事诉求的性质）、裁决结果及相关备注信息。备注栏有时会用于记录罚金或费用的缴纳情况。为验证案由登记簿中登记内容的真实性，法院主审官员需于每日庭审结束后在登记簿上签字确认。