Article by Laura Stefani, Legal Editor

The online scope guide for the legislation judicially considered search field states: "Use the Legislation Judicially Considered field to find cases that have judicially considered a section of an Act."

This begs the question: What do we mean by "judicially considered"? 

We don’t include in the legislation judicially considered field all legislative provisions that are just mentioned or referenced. We include provisions that have been construed in a judgment; where the judgment talks about the meaning or operation of the provision. This way, you can easily find relevant cases that discuss certain characteristics of the provision itself.

For example, if you search for the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth), s 44, using the legislation judicially considered field, you will not find every appeal to the Federal Court from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on a question of law. Instead, you will find the cases that have discussed particular aspects of s 44, such as the meaning of "decision". If you want to find all the cases that have been brought under s 44 you can search using the "free text" field.

We also include provisions that dictate the nature of the proceeding, such as a particular criminal offence; where the judgment considers the provision by linking facts to the elements of the offence. This way, you can easily find relevant cases that discuss the operation or impact of the provision.