Magistrates Amendment Bill 2015
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill fixes a technical problem with the oaths taken by some Queensland magistrates and judicial registrars between April 2013 and April 2015. It confirms that their appointments and all their past decisions are legally valid, even though they took an outdated form of oath.
Who it affects
The affected magistrates and judicial registrars keep their positions, and anyone who had a court matter decided by them can be confident the decision still stands.
Key changes
- Confirms that the old 2003-form oath taken by some magistrates and judicial registrars counts as if they had taken the correct 2013 oath
- Validates all past decisions and orders made by affected magistrates and judicial registrars
- Stops affected judicial officers from automatically losing their office because of the oath error
- Gives magistrates who never took any oath three months to take the correct one or cease to hold office
Bill Story
The journey of this bill through Parliament, including debate and recorded votes.
▸Second Reading7 May 2015View Hansard
Supported the bill as an appropriate and prompt response to an administrative error in the court system, acknowledging the Attorney-General had moved quickly.
“On behalf of the opposition, I am certainly satisfied that this is an appropriate measure to take in view of the unfortunate circumstances that have come before the parliament.”— 2015-05-07View Hansard
Introduced and moved the urgent bill to validate appointments and decisions of magistrates who had taken an incorrect form of oath between 2013 and 2015.
“The bill will cure the current defects in the appointments of the relevant judicial officers and is essential to avoid disruption to the administration of justice in the Magistrates Court.”— 2015-05-07View Hansard
Referenced Entities
Sectors Affected
Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards