New South Wales Court of Appeal

The New South Wales Court of Appeal is the highest civil state court for the Australian State of New South Wales. It forms part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

History

The Court of Appeal commenced operation on 1 January 1966 with the appointment of the President, Sir Gordon Wallace, and 6 Judges of Appeal, Bernard Sugerman, Charles McLelland, Cyril Walsh, Kenneth Jacobs, Kenneth Asprey and John Holmes Dashwood.

Composition

The Court of Appeal consists of the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal and 9 Judges of Appeal. Currently these positions are filled by:

Chief Justice

• Tom Bathurst (13 May 2011)

President of the Court of Appeal

• James Allsop (2 June 2008)

Judges of the Court of Appeal

• Margaret Beazley (1996)
• Roger Giles
• David Hodgson (23 April 2001)
• David Ipp (21 October 2002)
• Murray Tobias (28 April 2003)
• Ruth McColl (29 April 2003)
• John Basten (2 May 2005)
• Joseph Campbell

Most judges in the Court of Appeal also sit on the Court of Criminal Appeal in varying degrees of frequency. The Chief Judge at Common Law and the Chief Judge in Equity also sit on the Court of Appeal (and the Court of Criminal Appeal) from time to time. There are also two current Acting Justices of Appeal - Ken Handley and John Bryson - who were formerly judges of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, respectively.

Jurisdiction

The Court of Appeal operates under the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW). The Court hears appeals from a variety of courts and tribunals in New South Wales, in particular the Supreme Court and the District Court. The Court of Appeal must grant leave to appeal a judgment of an inferior court, before it hears the appeal proper. Special leave to appeal is required to appeal a judgment from the Court of Appeal to the High Court of Australia. Because special leave is only granted by the High Court under certain conditions, the Court of Appeal is in effect a court of final appeal for many matters.

External links

• Supreme Court website
• Court of Appeal Judgments
• Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW)