The Act sets the rules; the Regulation supplies the paperwork. Most of what a litigant physically handles in the District Court, from the complaint form to the warrant of execution, is a Regulation form.
Where the Regulation comes from
The Head of State, acting on advice, may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted to be prescribed, and in particular providing for (a) the practice and procedure before Magistrates and in Courts; (b) the payment of money into Court in satisfaction of a claim; (c) tender or payment relied on as a defence; (d) the giving of security; (e) the forms to be used, including forms of recognizance; (f) the fees, costs and charges; and (g) the form of account to be rendered by Clerks.
Section 21A adds a second rule-making power: with the approval of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, the Chief Magistrate may make rules of practice and procedure in the civil jurisdiction. The District Courts (Amendment) Act 2009 makes both its new mediation regime and its restriction on ex parte orders depend on rules being made under section 21A.
The forms
(1) Where a provision of the Act or this Regulation is specified in the first column of Schedule 1, the form in Schedule 2 specified in the third column is the form to be used for the purposes of that provision.
(2) The forms in Schedule 2, or similar forms, may be used for the purposes to which they are applicable, and instruments in those forms, or in similar forms, shall be deemed sufficient in law, but those forms may be varied for the purpose of adapting them to circumstances.
Schedule 1 lists 79 forms. The ones a litigant is most likely to meet are set out below.
| Form | What it is | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Statement of causes of complaint in civil cases | Act s 21 |
| 15 | Complaint | Act s 28 |
| 16 | Information | Act ss 28, 35 |
| 17–18 | Summons to a person on an information; on a complaint | Act ss 41, 42, 44, 47 |
| 19–20 | Summons to give evidence; to produce documents | Act ss 44, 45, 66, 71 |
| 21 | Warrant in the first instance to apprehend a person | Act ss 49, 50 |
| 42 | Default summons on a complaint for a civil debt | Act s 157 |
| 52–53 | Warrant of execution on an order for money; for costs on a dismissal | Act s 173 |
| 71 | Notice of appeal | Act s 220 |
| 73 | Entry of appeal to National Court | Act s 226 |
If a form is wrong
Non-compliance with this Regulation or departure from the forms shall not render any proceeding void unless the Court before whom the proceeding comes so directs, but the proceeding may be amended or otherwise dealt with in such manner as to postponement, adjournment, or otherwise, and on such terms as the Court thinks fit.
This is deliberately forgiving. An unrepresented complainant who writes out a claim on a sheet of paper rather than Form 15 has not filed a nullity. Section 32 of the Act takes the same approach to informations, and section 232 to notices of appeal. What the Regulation does not forgive is a failure to comply with the Act: the time limits for service in section 47, the one month for a notice of appeal in section 220, and the recognizance on appeal in section 222 are statutory, and regulation 44 does not reach them.
Where the Regulation is silent
Where in this Regulation there is no provision, or no sufficient provision, for any matter or thing, the Court may supply the deficiency, or allow it to be supplied, in such manner as may be just and proper, and for that purpose regard may be had to any relevant or analogous practice, procedure or form in use by, or for the purposes of, the National Court.
This is the provision a magistrate reaches for when, for example, a party wants to join another defendant, or to file an affidavit in a form the Regulation does not prescribe. It is discussed further in what happens when the Act does not cover the situation.
What else the Regulation does
| Regulation | Subject | In this series |
|---|---|---|
| regs 10–14 | Register of Decisions, Suitors’ Cash Book, Security Book, Instalment Book | The Clerk |
| regs 21–23 | Complaints against two or more persons; enforcement against joint defendants; partners | Suing partners |
| regs 24–28 | Notice of special defences: set-off, infancy, coverture, limitation, insolvency, tender, payment in | Special defences |
| regs 29–35 | Payment into court and tender as a defence | Payment into court |
| regs 37–38 | Application for a fraudulent debtor summons; certificate of payment | Imprisonment of debtors |
| regs 47–49; Schs 3–6 | Court fees, lawyers’ and agents’ costs, witnesses’ expenses, miscellaneous fees | Fees and costs |
The District Courts Regulation is not on PacLII. The text used here is the consolidation to No 27 of 1998, available on vLex. The fee figures in Schedules 3 to 6 are old and may have been varied; check with the registry before relying on them.
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the District Courts Act (Chapter 40) and check for later amendments. The Act is not on PacLII; the figures and time limits quoted in this series come from the consolidation to No 8 of 2000, and the District Courts (Amendment) Act 2009 changes some of them once it is brought into operation. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.