Magistrates Court Practice SA Noticeboard – May 2020 Part 2
Uniform Civil Rules Gazetted
In one of the longest gazettes ever, the Uniform Civil Rules 2020 were published in Parts 1 and 2 of Supplementary Gazette No 41 of 2020 of 18 May 2020, confirming that the Magistrates Court (Civil) Rules 2013 were replaced by the Uniform Civil Rules 2020 on that date.
Retail and Commercial Lease update for COVID relief
Supplementary Gazette no 40 of 15 May 2020 proclaimed into force the COVID- 19 Emergency Response (Further Measures) Amendment Act 2020 and the COVID-19 Emergency Response (Commercial Leases No 2) Regulations 2020. The effect of these is to change the process of resolving a dispute arising from COVID-19 rent relief. The process now is to apply to the Small Business Commissioner for a mediation under under reg 8 of the COVID-19 Emergency Response (Commercial Leases No 2) Regulations 2020. An application to the Magistrates Court under reg 9 of the COVID-19 Emergency Response (Commercial Leases No 2) Regulations 2020 can only be made if the Commissioner has issued a certificate in relation to the mediation (reg 8(4)).
The regulations apply from 30 March 2020 until 30 September 2020 and an affected lessee which can seek rent relief is defined as (reg 3(2)):
An application to the Magistrates Court is made on Uniform Civil Rules 2020 Form 2 Originating Application with a supporting affidavit including proof of the Commissioner's reg 8(4) certificate. The respondent has 14 days to file a response and affidavit. The matter is referred to a magistrate who, after the hearing, can make orders in relation to the lease and rent in accordance with reg 9.
Dr Andrew J Cannon BA LLB (Adel) LLM(Hons) (Woll) PhD (Woll) FAAL AM is a retired Deputy Chief Magistrate of South Australia. He is an adjunct Professor at Adelaide and Flinders Universities law schools and a Visiting Professor at Münster and Trier Universities, Germany as well as an experienced qualified mediator under the National Standard.