Order 2 Division 2 of the National Court Rules 1983 sets out the Registry’s functions.
Who the Registrar is
(1) The Judicial and Legal Services Commission may appoint persons to the offices of Registrar, Deputy Registrar, Associates to the Judges, and such other offices as it considers necessary.
(2) A person so appointed is an officer of the Court and is not, while acting as such, subject to direction or control by any person other than the Chief Justice and the other Judges.
The Registrar answers to the Judges and to nobody else. That protects the integrity of filing and record-keeping — the point at which a case could most easily be interfered with.
Order 1 Rule 6 defines “Registrar” to include an acting, deputy or assistant Registrar, and defines “Registry”, “office of the Registrar” and “Registrar’s office’ to mean the offices of the Court including a sub-registry. “To file” means to file in the Registrar’s office.
Order 2 Rules 4 to 10
| Rule | Duty |
|---|---|
| 4 | Custody of the seal and stamp, kept under lock and key when not in use |
| 5 | Affixing the seal or stamp to documents the Rules authorise to be sealed |
| 6 | Custody of all records of the Court and all documents filed or ordered to be deposited or impounded |
| 7 | General supervision of the officers employed in the Registry |
| 8 | Everything the Rules require to be done in the Registry is done by the Registrar or Registry officers |
| 9 | A Judge may direct the Registrar to do any act relating to the duties of the office |
| 10 | Documents may be signed for the Registrar, and received or filed by any clerk to whom those duties are assigned |
Section 5 of the National Court Act requires the Court to have a seal for sealing all writs and other instruments issued out of the Court, and a second seal or stamp for authentication of court documents.
A writ of summons takes effect as an act of the Court because it is sealed. Until the Registry seals it, you have a draft.
Rules 19 to 21 — what happens when you file
Rule 19 — the date of filing shall be written by the Registrar on every document which is filed.
Rule 20 — the first document filed in a proceeding is assigned a serial number, and every other document in the proceeding bears that number together with a reference to the calendar year. A new series of numbers begins each calendar year.
Rule 21 — every judgment, order, certificate, petition, affidavit or document used in a proceeding must have plainly written or stamped on its first page the year and number by which the matter is distinguished in the Cause Book.
Not the date typed on the document, and not the date you signed it. Rule 19 requires the Registrar to write the filing date, and that is the date the Court works from.
Combined with the Registry hours in Rule 11 — 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon and 1.00 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. — this means a document handed over at 3.45 p.m. on the last day of a period is late. See how time is calculated, and note the out-of-hours provisions in Rules 12 and 13.
Rule 15 requires a register of all documents filed and all proceedings taken, showing the dates. That register is the authoritative record of what was filed and when.
Rules 16 and 17
A person may search the records of the Court and obtain from the Registrar a certified copy of a record, on satisfying the Registrar that he has good and sufficient reason for so doing, and on payment of the prescribed fee.
An original record of the Court, or document or thing produced under summons, shall not be taken from the Registry without the order of a Judge.
Rule 16 requires the searcher to satisfy the Registrar of a good and sufficient reason. It is not an unrestricted right of public inspection.
Some proceedings are further protected. Publication of information identifying a child in a proceeding under the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 is an offence under section 96; adoption records are sealed and closed to inspection; and the Matrimonial Causes Act (Chapter 282) restricts publication of matrimonial evidence.
To obtain a copy of a judgment or order, apply to the Registry and pay the prescribed fee.
Rule 18 — if the Registrar refuses
Any act or decision of the Registrar may be reviewed by a Judge, who may make an order by way of confirmation, variation or otherwise as he thinks fit.
If the Registry declines to accept a document for filing, refuses a search, or takes a step you say is wrong, the answer is not judicial review under Order 16 — it is an application under Order 2 Rule 18 to have a Judge review the act or decision.
The Judge may confirm, vary, or otherwise deal with it. This is quicker and cheaper than any other route, and it is the correct one.
Finally, note Order 2 Rule 29: the Court may order to be struck out of any document any matter which is scandalous, frivolous, vexatious, irrelevant or otherwise oppressive. That power applies to any document, not only to pleadings. On the form documents must take, see what forms you must use.
Sources
- National Court Rules 1983 — O 1 r 6; O 2 rr 4–21, 29
- National Court Act (Chapter 38) — ss 4, 5, 7
- Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 — s 96
- Matrimonial Causes Act (Chapter 282) — s 95
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the National Court Rules 1983 and check for later amendments. 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.