Court hierarchy and jurisdiction 

Reading a case without understanding which court decided it is like reading a statute without knowing which parliament enacted it. Court hierarchy and jurisdiction explain why one decision may be binding, another persuasive, and a third irrelevant to the issue being studied.

Two questions students should ask first

When opening a case, begin with two threshold questions:

1. What court decided it?
2. What kind of jurisdiction was the court exercising?

The first question matters for precedent. The second matters for power, procedure and the scope of the decision.

Original and appellate jurisdiction

A court exercising original jurisdiction hears and decides a matter in the first instance. A court exercising appellate jurisdiction reviews a decision that has already been made. Those modes of jurisdiction shape what the reasons for decision are doing.

A trial judgment may focus heavily on facts and evidence. An appellate judgment may focus more sharply on legal principle, error correction or the correct interpretation of statute or doctrine.

The national hierarchy is not a single ladder

Australia does not have one simple court ladder. It has overlapping federal and state systems, with relationships created by the Constitution and legislation such as the Judiciary Act 1903, which invests the State courts with federal jurisdiction.¹

At a high level:

• the High Court of Australia sits at the apex;
• federal courts exercise federal jurisdiction in areas assigned to them; and
• state and territory courts handle a large share of criminal, civil and appellate work, while also sometimes exercising federal jurisdiction.

Why forum matters for legal reading

The same doctrinal topic may appear in different forums. A statutory interpretation issue might arise in the High Court, a Full Court of the Federal Court, or a state Court of Appeal. That forum affects both the authority of the reasoning and the procedural setting in which the point was decided.

Practical consequences for students

When taking notes on a case, record at least:

• the court;
• whether it is an appellate or first-instance decision;
• the jurisdictional setting;
• the year and neutral citation; and
• the proposition you think the case supports.

Those habits make later work on precedent in Australian law and reading cases with purpose more disciplined.