VPRS 11630 Court of Mines Register

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.

各矿区均设有矿业法庭（Court of Mines）。尽管每个矿区仅设立一家矿业法庭，但该法庭可在多个不同地点开庭审理案件。每家矿业法庭均由法官主持，该法官通常同时兼任郡法院法官。

矿业法庭审理并裁决各类涉矿纠纷，涵盖矿业企业合伙人、股东与雇员的权利归属争议等。同时，矿业法庭还可作为上诉法院，受理针对矿业监察员（Mining Wardens）就矿权申请与租赁边界等地域管辖相关事项作出的裁决提起的上诉。

矿业法庭不负责核发矿工证（Miner's Rights）、矿权勘测、登记或矿业租赁审批，上述职能均由矿区矿业官员负责履行。尽管20世纪时其案件受理量有所缩减，但矿业法庭一直运作至1969年。1969年，《矿业（法庭废除）法案》（Mines (Abolition of Courts) Act）正式撤销矿业法庭，并将其全部司法管辖权移交至郡法院。

矿业法庭的裁决登记簿会留存于其开庭的各个地点。例如，据记载，比奇沃斯矿业区（Beechworth Mining District）的裁决登记簿分别留存于亚历山德拉（Alexandra）、亚坎丹达（Yackandandah）、比奇沃斯、布莱特（Bright）与曼斯菲尔德（Mansfield）。

矿业法庭登记簿详细记载了法庭受理的每起投诉或案件的编号与受理日期、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额、诉讼费用明细、法庭裁决（判令）、裁决执行日期及其他备注信息。