43
establishment of the commercial list
establishment of the judicial office of Master of the High Court
reconstitution of the Rules Committee so as to include rule-making for the
District Courts
power to detain and sentence for contempt
power for the High Court to sit in Australia in proceedings under the
Commerce Act 1986 and for the Federal Court of Australia to sit in New
Zealand in comparable proceedings under the Trade Practices Act 1974
creation of the Civil and Criminal Appeals Divisions of the Court of Appeal
restrictions on vexatious litigants
recovery of money paid under mistake of law or fact
power for the Court of Appeal to appoint technical advisers
application for review (by the stand-alone Judicature Amendment Act 1972).
84
The more an Act is amended, the more it loses its coherence. Frequent amendment
can be a sign that there was insufficient time to develop the policy for, and then draft
and enact, the statute. It may also reflect legitimate changes in the policy area with
which the statute deals. Reprinting alleviates to some extent the problems of
accessibility in cases such as these, but a heavily amended statute remains a heavily