VPRS 4759 Court of Petty Sessions Cause List Books (1863-1888); Court of Petty Sessions Registers (1888-1959)

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.

治安法院（Courts of Petty Sessions，现通称为裁判法院（Magistrates' Courts））处理范围极广的‘轻微’法庭案件。其管辖范畴涵盖三类事务：刑事、民事及牌照许可。19世纪时，该类法院是民事与刑事案件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大的民事纠纷。牌照许可管辖曾同时覆盖酒类与非酒类牌照事宜，直至1886年独立的酒类牌照法院（liquor Licensing Courts）设立为止。

历届《治安法官法》（Justices Acts）均要求治安法院书记员留存所有法庭裁决与命令的记录，该记录即为法庭的权威档案。直至约1888年，用于该用途的卷宗被称为案件目录簿（Cause List Books）——此处‘cause’意为诉讼案件。大多数治安法院会随案处理刑事、民事及牌照许可事务，因此案件目录簿通常会记载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、刑事及牌照事务分开记录。

案件目录簿通常采用统一格式。每页顶部会记载法庭名称、开庭日期、法庭庭长及其他主审法官的姓名。对于每一起审理的案件，会记录投诉人（complainant）、被告人（defendant）的姓名、应缴费用、案件事由（即刑事指控或民事索赔的性质）、裁决结果及附注。附注栏有时会用于记录罚金或费用的缴纳情况。为确保案件目录簿中登记内容的真实性，法庭主审法官需于每日庭审结束后在簿册上签名。