AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

COURT OF PETTY SESSIONS (CIVIL JURISDICTION) (SOLICITORS’ COSTS) REGULATIONS

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

No. 31 of 1982

	The Regulations are made under the Court of Petty Sessions (Civil Jurisdiction) Ordinance 1982 (“the Ordinance”) for the purpose of prescribing solicitors’ costs payable by one party to another in civil proceedings in the Australian Capital Territory Court of Petty Sessions.

	The Ordinance increases the civil jurisdiction of the Court of Petty Sessions to $10,000 (from $2,500) and introduces a revised civil procedure for the Court.  The revision of the civil procedure has been necessary having regard, in particular, to the expected increase in the complexity of the proceedings before the Court due to the increase in the monetary limit to its jurisdiction.

	As a consequence of the introduction of the revised (and expanded) procedure under the Ordinance, new scales of solicitors’ costs for proceedings in the Court are necessary.