EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1988 NO. 54
Issued by the authority of the Judges of the Federal Court of Australia
AMENDMENT OF THE RULES OF THE
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
Section 59 of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 permits the Judges of the Court (of whom there are thirty-one (31) including the Chief Justice) or a majority of them to make Rules of Court not inconsistent with the Act, making provision for or in relation to the practice and procedure to be followed in the Court, including practice and procedure to be followed in Registries of the Court, and for or in relation to all matters and things incidental to any such practice or procedure, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the conduct of any business of the Court. Section 59 of the Act also provides that sections 48, 49 and 50 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 apply in relation to these Rules of Court made under that section as if references in those sections of that Act to regulations were references to Rules of Court.
The present Federal Court Rules came into operation on 1 August 1979. They have been reviewed regularly since then.
The Rules now made come into operation on 26 April 1988. They amend the existing Rules of Court dealing with discovery of documents by a party from an opponent and discovery from a person
who is not a party to proceedings or from a party who may eventually be a party. A replacement Order 54A has been made to facilitate applications for relief under s.39B of the Judiciary Act 1903; mandamus, prohibition or injunctions against Commonwealth officers. The Federal Court’s existing Order 54A was modelled on the High Court practice. The Rule now made is simple and enables applicants for relief under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 to claim relief under s.39B in the same application.
Finally the Court was given concurrent jurisdiction in Intellectual Property matters in September 1987. The Rules now made provide a comprehensive practice for dealing with applications made under the Patents Act 1952, the Trade Marks Act 1955, the Designs Act 1906, the Copyright Act 1968 and the Advance Australia Logo Protection Act 1984.