21 What is Case Law?
A case is a written record of a judge’s reasoning or decision-making applied to a particular dispute. When deciding cases, judges interpret legislation and apply the doctrine of precedent (stare decisis), which means the court must follow the decisions reached by a higher court in the same jurisdiction. For this reason, case law has precedential value and is sometimes known as common law or judge-made law. It is important to understand the court hierarchy and doctrine of precedents when looking for case law.
Court hierarchy in Queensland
Queensland has three main courts:
- Magistrates Court
- District Court
- Supreme Court.
These are trial division courts and matters are presided over by one Judge or Magistrate. The Supreme Court also has a Court of Appeal, which is an appellate court. This means that it does not hear originating matters. Generally, three judges will sit on the Supreme Court of Queensland, Court of Appeal.
There are also special courts and tribunals which hear matters relating to a particular area of law. For example, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal (QCAT) hears matters include building disputes, tree disputes, discipline and regulation of professionals, and discrimination complaints. The types of matters each court hears is called their jurisdiction and is set out in the relevant Act that governs their composition (e.g. Supreme Court of Queensland Act 1991 (Qld)).
| Court | Civil jurisdiction | Criminal jurisdiction |
| Magistrates Court | Matters involving amounts up to $150,000 | Summary offences (those that attract minor penalties, e.g. traffic offences. Committal hearings also take place in the Magistrates court.) |
| District Court | Matters involving amounts between $150,000 to $750,000 | Indictable offences (those that attract more serious penalties e.g. sexual assault, indecent treatment of children) |
| Supreme Court (trial division) | Unlimited jurisdiction, involving amounts above $750,000 | Indictable offences (offences that can attract penalties of up to life in prison including murder, manslaughter, and drug trafficking) |
| Supreme Court, Court of Appeal | Hears appeals from Queensland courts and tribunals |
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the highest court in the country and was established by section 71 of Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (1901) (Cth) to:
- interpret and apply the law of Australia
- decide cases of federal significance including challenges to the constitutional validity of laws
- hear appeals from Federal, State and Territory courts, where special leave is granted.
However, the High Court of Australia has not always been the highest appellate court in Australia and until the 1980s it was still possible to appeal certain matters to the Privy Council in the United Kingdom.
See High Court of Australia Role of the High Court and Operation of the High Court.
