The Court of Appeal has highlighted the severe restriction on VCAT’s jurisdiction that arises from federal issues. Practitioners conducting matters in VCAT will need to understand, and be vigilant of, the extent of federal jurisdiction and consider the consequences for disputes that are or might be in it, or might be brought within it. Introduction …
Category Archives: Civil procedure
J’accuse: but to the civil standard of proof
Most people – and hopefully all lawyers – will be familiar with the idea that criminal allegations must (ordinarily) be proved beyond reasonable doubt, whereas matters in a civil dispute need only be proved on the balance of probabilities. But what about cases which are not criminal, but involve serious allegations of wrongdoing? This often …
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Appealing from decisions of the Magistrates’ Court, VCAT and the AAT: what is a question of law? Haritos v Commissioner of Taxation [2015] FCAFC 92; (2015) 322 ALR 254
It is often taken for granted that if a litigant is dissatisfied with a decision at the end of a trial or hearing, the litigant has a right of appeal to correct errors in the decision. But a right of appeal only exists if a statute provides for one. It then needs to be ascertained …
Lionel Wirth 