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Established 1 January 1966 (1966-01-01) Composition method Vice-regal appointment upon Premier's nomination, following advice of the Attorney General and Cabinet Authorized by Decisions are appealed to | ||
The New South Wales Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for civil matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian state of New South Wales.
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Jurisdiction
The Court of Appeal operates pursuant to 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, the Industrial Court, the Land and Environment Court, the District Court, the Dust Diseases Tribunal, the Workers Compensation Commission, and the Government and Related Employees Appeal Tribunal. The Court of Appeal must grant leave to appeal a judgment of an inferior court, before it hears the appeal proper.
If a petitioner is not satisfied with the decision made by the Court of Appeal, application may be made to the High Court of Australia for special leave to appeal the decision before the High Court. 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.
History
Although the New South Wales Court of Appeal commenced operation on 1 January 1966 with the appointment of the President, Sir Gordon Wallace, and six Judges of Appeal, Bernard Sugerman, Charles McLelland, Cyril Walsh, Kenneth Jacobs, Kenneth Asprey and John Holmes Dashwood, the Court of Appeal was established in 1965, replacing the former appellate Full Court of the New South Wales Supreme Court. The advent of the Court of Appeal was controversial, as it introduced another order and unexpectedly uprooted the established order of hierarchy and seniority among judges of the Supreme Court.
Composition
The Court of Appeal consists of the Chief Justice of New South Wales, the President of the Court of Appeal and nine judges of appeal. There are currently eleven judges of appeal with current commissions. However, two of them, Justice Hoeben and Justice McClellan, are not operating full-time as judges of appeal. Justice Hoeben is chief judge at common law. Justice McClellan is chairing a Royal Commission.
Judges who may form a panel or hear sentence appeals from the Drug Court alone are listed below:
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, Justice Hoeben, and the Chief Judge in Equity, Justice Bergin, also sit on the Court of Appeal (and the Court of Criminal Appeal) from time to time.