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The Lieutenant Governor’s Court was a court established in the early 19th century in the colony of Van Diemen's Land which subsequently became Tasmania, a state of Australia. The court had jurisdiction to deal with civil disputes where the amount in dispute was not more than £50 sterling in the colony. The establishment of the court was the first practical civil court in the settlement. This was an important first step in improving the resolution of civil disputes in the settlement. The Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land eventually replaced it in 1823 when the court’s charter was revoked by the Third Charter of Justice. ==Background== The British government established the colony of New South Wales primarily as a penal colony with the intention of encouraging later settlement. Captain Arthur Phillip was appointed as the colony’s first governor and did much to ensure the colony of New South Wales survived and transformed into a modern colonial outpost. Phillip’s commission extended his authority from the top of Australia to the bottom of Tasmania plus islands to the east of New South Wales. Soon after the commencement of the New South Wales colony, Phillip was directed to commence a colony at Norfolk Island. Later, Governor Philip Gidley King was ordered to found a colony in Van Diemen’s Land to prevent the French from laying claim to it. In 1803, King choose Lieutenant John Bowen, a British soldier to start the colony. Bowen chose Risdon Cove on the eastern shore of the River Derwent in the south-east for the first settlement of Europeans. In 1804 Lieutenant-governor David Collins moved the settlement across the river and Hobart was founded. The beginnings of the colony as a penal colony were hard. Food was in short supply and convicts had to be disciplined. Nevertheless, it soon prospered particularly with whaling and the release of convicts into the community who had served their time. With the increased prosperity came the need for better access to forms of civil justice. The British authorities foresaw the need for a civil judicial system to be established in the colony of New South Wales. A court styled the “Court of Civil Jurisdiction” was established by the First Charter of Justice as well a Court of Vice-Admiralty pursuant to letters from the High Admiralty in Great Britain. This court was a failure for the settlement in Van Diemen’s Land as the court would not sit outside Sydney. Litigants had to make an arduous journey to Sydney by boat to prosecute their case. The introduction of the Lieutenant Governor’s Court was the first step in providing adequate access to justice in the settlement. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lieutenant Governor's Court」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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