THE MAGISTRATES COURT OF QUEENSLAND: JURISDICTION AND APPEAL PROCESS Kayne Roy Ballard 1 This paper will briefly look at the Magistrates Court and its jurisdiction as a creature of statute, its monetary limit and its criminal jurisdiction limits. The paper will then give examples of other legislation that can extend the Court’s jurisdiction, how the Court exercises federal jurisdiction and finally it will look at the appeal process under the Justices Act 1886 for criminal law, the appeal process under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) and finally appealing from the District Court to the Court of Appeal if necessary. Civil Jurisdiction It is common ground that the Magistrates Court is a creature of statute and therefore it is limited to the statute that created it or another legislative provision. 2 The Magistrates Court is governed by the Magistrates Court Act 1921 (Qld) (“the Act”) wherein its monetary limits are drafted as such: 1. Every personal action where the amount claimed is not more than the prescribed amount; 3 2. Every action brought to recover a sum not more than the prescribed limit which includes: the whole or part of a partnership account or the amount or part of the amount of a share in a will or under intestacy; 4 or 3. Every action in which a person has an equitable claim or demand in which the only relief sought is a sum of money. 5 Under the Act the prescribed limit is $150,000.00. 6 An example of a piece of legislation that extends the Magistrates Court’s jurisdiction is the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Qld). 7 The Court is of the opinion however that the civil jurisdiction is only in relation to the recovery of sums of money and cannot be extended to the recovery of goods with emphasis placed on “amount claimed”, “recover a sum” and “only relief sought is a sum of money” 8 A decision that is made in excess of jurisdiction that involves a breach of natural justice may be quashed on appeal. 9 Criminal Jurisdiction * Legal Practice Director, Simpliciter Legal Solutions LLB, GDLP 2 Silver Chef Rentals Pty Ltd v The Alliance of Congolese in the Northern Territory and others [2017] QMC 8, [4]. 3 Magistrates Court Act 1921 (Qld) s 4(a). 4 Magistrates Court Act 1921 (Qld) s 4(b). 5 Magistrates Court Act 1921 (Qld) s 4(c). 6 Magistrates Court Act 1921 (Qld) s 2. 7 Silver Chef Rentals Pty Ltd v The Alliance of Congolese in the Northern Territory and others [2017] QMC 8, [5]. 8 Silver Chef Rentals Pty Ltd v The Alliance of Congolese in the Northern Territory and others [2017] QMC 8, [11]. 9 Ash & Anor v Comans [2003] QSC 14, [6].