VPRS 3159 County Court Register of Judgments

Full description

This series contains Australian Register of Judgments of legal suits carried out across different state jurisdictions throughout Australia. These suits were heard at the County Court in Victoria, and at District Courts in other states.

The records generally contain a Certificate of Judgment, with the heading stating ‘Certificate of Judgment under section 20 of the Service and Execution of Process Act, 1901 [Commonwealth], as amended.’ Also sometimes attached to the Certificate was an Affidavit/Affidavit of Cognizance.

These Certificates include judgment and verdict. Usually one party is ordered to pay another a sum of money, which often includes costs and interests.

The Service and Execution of Process Act 1901 [Commonwealth] permitted the registration of certificates of judgments from one state court (e.g. a District Court outside of Victoria) to have the same force and effect in another state court (e.g. the County Court in Victoria).

On the Certificates, the listing of ‘Form of Nature of Suit’ were primarily commercial legal matters, and the Certificate of Judgment includes judgment and verdict; usually one party is to pay another, which often includes costs and interests. These were for matters related to liquidated claims, or for claims for monies lent or paid (e.g. home loans, personal loans), or for breaches of contracts.

If the Certificate of Judgment originated from a District Court outside of Victoria, then usually the defendant was located in Victoria. That meant the Certificate of Judgment was sent to the County Court in Victoria, where the judgment was to be carried out in the Victoria jurisdiction. This included payment of Victorian stamp duty, as well as to the other party listed in the suit (usually the plaintiff).

Examples of interstate District Courts include NSW (Sydney; Liverpool; Parramatta; Wagga Wagga); Queensland (Brisbane; Toowoomba; Southport); SA (Adelaide); and WA (Perth).