VPRS 289 Court Of Petty Sessions Cause List Books (1854-1888); Court Of Petty Sessions Registers (1888-1962)

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. From 1888 Cause List Books became known as Registers. Although their format altered slightly from this time their purpose remained the same.

小额诉讼法院（Courts of Petty Sessions，现称为治安法院（Magistrates' Courts））管辖范围涵盖极为广泛的各类“轻微”司法事务，其审理案件涵盖三类司法管辖范畴：刑事、民事及许可类事务。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）与最高法院则负责审理并裁决更为严重的刑事案件以及标的额更大的民事纠纷。在1886年专门的酒类许可法院设立之前，其许可类司法管辖范畴同时涵盖酒类与非酒类许可事务。历次《治安法官法》（Justices Acts）均要求小额诉讼法院书记员留存该法院所有裁决与命令的记录，此类记录为法院的权威档案。直至1888年左右，用于该用途的卷宗被称为“案由登记簿（Cause List Books）”（此处“案由（cause）”即指案件）。绝大多数小额诉讼法院会在刑事、民事及许可类事务发生时即予以受理，因此案由登记簿通常会详细记录该三类案件的全部信息。仅规模最大、业务最繁忙的法院才会将三类案件分别单独记录。案由登记簿通常采用统一格式：每页顶部会记录法院名称、开庭日期、法院庭长及其他主审法官的姓名；针对每一起审理中的案件，登记簿会记录原告、被告的姓名，需缴纳的各项费用，案由（即刑事指控内容或民事诉求性质）、裁决结果及附注说明。附注栏有时会用于记录罚金或费用的缴纳情况。为确保登记簿中录入内容的真实性，法院主审法官需于每日庭审结束后在登记簿上签字。自1888年起，案由登记簿更名为“登记册（Registers）”。尽管此后其格式略有调整，但核心用途始终未变。