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.
Jurisdiction The Court of Appeal operates pursuant to the . 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 The Court of Appeal was established in 1965, replacing the former appellate Full Court of the New South Wales Supreme Court, and commenced operations 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 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.
Current composition The Court of Appeal, , consists of the Chief Justice of New South Wales, the President of the Court of Appeal, and the judges of appeal. Apart from the Chief Justice and the President of the Court, there are nine judges of appeal with current commissions.
Traditionally these judges of appeal include the head of the Supreme Court's Common Law Division and the head of its Equity Division, judges (sometimes style chief judges) who sit for the most part in those Divisions as 'primary' judges. The Chief Judge at Common Law is currently Ian Harrison, while the Chief Judge in Equity is currently David Hammerschlag. The chief judges will on occasion sit as appeal judges from time to time.
The Governor can also appoint Acting Judges of Appeal. They have all rights and powers as a Judge of Appeal. There are presently two acting judges of appeal, John Griffiths and Derek Price. Each sit full-time in the Court of Appeal, although will hear primary cases in the Divisions as the need arises.
Name Title Term began Time in office Notes 21 April 2022 Acting Judge of Appeal
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.
Presidents of the Court of Appeal Name Appointmentcommenced Appointmentended Term asPresidentComments Notes Retired Retired Appointed to the High Court Retired Appointed to the High Court Retired. Retired Appointed Chief Justice of the Federal Court Appointed Governor of NSW Appointed Chief Justice of New South Wales
See also
List of New South Wales courts and tribunals List of judges of appeal of the NSW Court of Appeal
References
External links Supreme Court website Court of Appeal Judgments (Caselaw NSW)