Recently, numerous changes were made to the High Court and Federal Court classification scheme used by Firstpoint and the Australian Digest. The Cases Team is always looking for ways in which we can benefit our customers by improving the currency and detail of Firstpoint and the Australian Digest. In order to do this, every year we closely review the scope and relevance of the categories within the 79 titles of our classification scheme.

The Federal Circuit Court range was expanded from a single classification to 20 new sub-headings, to cater for the growing number of cases that are classified to procedural matters in the Federal Circuit Court jurisdiction. The new range is as follows:

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT

• JURISDICTION AND GENERALLY
  • Generally
  • Jurisdiction
  • Judicial officers and staff
• PROCEDURE
  • Starting proceedings
  • Parties
  • Ending a proceeding early
    • Discontinuance
    • Order or judgment on default
    • Summary disposal and stay
    • Other matters
  • Alternative dispute resolution
  • Transfer of proceedings
  • Discovery and inspection
  • Subpoenas and notices to produce
  • Evidence
    • Privilege
    • Other matters
  • Judgments and orders
  • Reasons
  • Contempt of court
  • Costs
  • Other matters

Improvements to the current Federal Court of Australia procedure range were motivated by the corresponding increase in number of reported cases on a topic. Whenever we notice an area of law expanding, we respond by creating new classification points, or widening an existing range, to allow for greater accuracy in our classification of cases. This produces superior results for our customers when they search by topic for reported cases on specific matters. It also provides a succinct overview of the relevant areas of law at a glance, by breaking down a title into informative and intuitive ranges, categories and sub-categories. In this way, the classification scheme in and of itself is an ever-evolving, and extremely useful, educational tool for our clients.

The new sub-headings for the Federal Court of Australia are as follows:

• Freezing orders
• Case management
• Self-incrimination privilege
• Adjournment
• Vexatious litigants or proceedings
• Affidavits
• Evidence via video or audio link
• Court approval of orders
  • Settlement orders
  • Consent orders
• Undertakings
• Grounds of appeal

As a result of these detailed changes, the classification scheme now has a more comprehensive list of lowest level entries, thus benefiting our customers by enabling quicker and easier access to a number of specific legal subject areas for courts commonly used by legal practitioners across Australia.