VPRS 1394 Court of Petty Sessions Cause List Books (1862-1888); Court of Petty Sessions Registers (1888-1934)

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.

治安裁判法庭（Courts of Petty Sessions，现称治安法庭Magistrates' Courts）可处理范围极广的“轻微”司法事务。其审判活动覆盖三类司法管辖范畴：刑事、民事及许可类事务。在19世纪，该法庭是民事与刑事事务领域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。
该法庭的许可管辖范畴在1886年以前同时涵盖酒类与非酒类执照许可事务，直至1886年独立酒类许可法院设立，该范畴才发生调整。
后续陆续颁布的《治安法官法》（Justices Acts）要求治安裁判法庭的书记员留存所有法庭裁决与命令的完整记录，此类记录即为该法庭的权威官方档案。在约1888年以前，用于记录此类内容的卷宗被称为“案件目录簿（Cause List Books）”——此处“cause”意指一桩案件。绝大多数治安裁判法庭会按照案件的实际类型，同步处理刑事、民事及许可类事务。因此，案件目录簿通常会详细记载上述所有类型的案件。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开记录。
案件目录簿普遍采用统一的格式规范。每一页的顶部均会记录法庭名称、开庭日期、法庭主席及其他主审官员的姓名。针对每一起已审理的案件，卷宗会载明投诉人、被告人的姓名，需缴纳的各项费用，案件事由（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。为确保案件目录簿中登记内容的真实性与有效性，法庭主审官员需在每日庭审结束后签署该卷宗。