Commonwealth Numbered Acts

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA ACT 1976 No. 156 of 1976 - SECT 59

PART VII-RULES OF COURT AND REGULATIONS
59. (1) The Judges of the Court or a majority of them may make Rules of Court,
not inconsistent with this Act, making provision for or in relation to the
practice and procedure to be followed in the Court (including the 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.

(2) In particular, the Rules of Court may make provision for or in relation
to-

   (a)  pleading;

   (b)  appearance under protest;

   (c)  interrogatories and discovery, production and inspection of documents;

   (d)  the attendance of witnesses;

   (e)  the administration of oaths and affirmations;

   (f)  the custody of convicted persons;

   (g)  the service and execution of the process of the Court, including the
        manner in which and the extent to which the process of the Court, or
        notice of any such process, may be served out of the jurisdiction of
        the Court;

   (h)  the issue by the Court of letters of request for the service in
        another country of any process of the Court;

        (i)    the service by officers of the Court, in the Commonwealth or in
               a Territory, of the process of a court of another country or of
               a part of another country, in accordance with a request of that
               court or of an authority of that country or of that part of
               that country, or in accordance with an arrangement in force
               between Australia and the government of that other country or
               of that part of that other country;

   (j)  the enforcement and execution of judgments of the Court;

   (k)  the stay of proceedings in, or under judgments of, the Court or
        another court;

   (l)  the prevention or termination of vexatious proceedings;

   (m)  the death of parties;

   (n)  the furnishing of security;

   (o)  the costs of proceedings in the Court;

   (p)  the means by which particular facts may be proved and the mode in
        which evidence of particular facts may be given;

   (q)  the forms to be used for the purposes of proceedings in the Court;

   (r)  the time and manner of instituting appeals to the Court;

   (s)  the duties of officers of the Court; and

   (t)  the fees to be charged by practitioners practising in the Court for
        the work done by them in relation to proceedings in the Court and the
        taxation of their bills of costs, either as between party and party or
        as between solicitor and client.

(3) Rules of Court under this section have effect subject to any provision
made by another Act, or by rules or regulations under another Act, with
respect to the practice and procedure in particular matters.

(4) All Rules of Court under this section shall-

   (a)  be notified in the Gazette;

   (b)  take effect from the date of notification or from a later date fixed
        by or in accordance with the Rules; and

   (c)  be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of
        that House after the making of the Rules.

(5) If either House of the Parliament, in pursuance of a motion of which
notice has been given within 15 sitting days after any Rules of Court have
been laid before that House, passes a resolution disallowing any rule, the
rule so disallowed ceases to have effect.