EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Select Legislative Instrument 2010 No. 35
Subject - Christmas Island Act 1958
Christmas Island (Courts) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Courts) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)
The purpose of the Regulations is to prescribe the Magistrates Court as a Court of Western Australia under the Acts.
The Christmas Island Act 1958 (Cth) and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955 (Cth) apply Western Australian laws to the Territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, respectively. The powers of courts and court officers under applied Western Australian laws are vested in those same courts and court officers in Western Australia.
Subsection 4(1) of the Christmas Island Act 1958 (Cth) and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955 (Cth) define a court to include the Local Court of Western Australia and any court prescribed by regulation. The Local Court was renamed as the Magistrates Court by the Courts Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2004 (WA) and the Magistrates Court Act 2004 (WA).
The Christmas Island (Courts) Regulations 1993 and Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Courts) Regulations 1993 currently prescribe a number of additional courts for each Territory. The Regulations add the Magistrates Court to the list of prescribed courts to ensure the Regulations reflect the new name of the Local Court.
The Acts specify no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the Regulations may be exercised.
The Regulations commenced on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
The Regulations are legislative instruments for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.