Note: This Notice to Practitioners (issued by the NSW District Registrar on 30 January 2008) is revoked and is replaced by the Notice to Practitioners and the Litigants - Conduct of Admiralty and Maritime Work in the Federal Court of Australia, issued by the Chief Justice on 18 December 2008

The purpose of this Notice to Practitioners is to confirm the arrangements set out in the National Notice to Practitioners for the conduct of Admiralty and Maritime matters and to inform practitioners how those arrangements operate in the NSW District Registry of the Court. This Notice replaces the previous Notices to Practitioners issued by the NSW District Registrar numbered NSW 2004/4, 2005/1 and 2006/2.

National Arrangements

Practitioners are expected to be familiar with the up-to-date national Notice to Practitioners on the Conduct of Admiralty and Maritime work in the Court, in particular the identification of Admiralty and Maritime matters. This national Notice to Practitioners can be found on the Court’s Admiralty and Maritime website: http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/how/admiralty.html.

NSW Admiralty and Maritime Judges

The Admiralty and Maritime Judges in the New South Wales District Registry are Tamberlin, Emmett, Allsop and Rares JJ. Justice Rares is also the Registry Convening and Procedure Judge.

Urgent applications

Any urgent application in an Admiralty and Maritime matter (in rem or in personam) is to be brought before Rares J as Procedure Judge or in his absence or unavailability Tamberlin J or in his absence or unavailability Emmett J or in his absence or unavailability Allsop J, and in the absence or unavailability of all of these judges, the Duty Judge, by contacting the relevant Judge’s associate. For urgent applications brought outside business hours, practitioners should contact Law Courts Security desk on (02) 9230 8025. This arrangement does not displace the usual procedure of approaching the Court in relation to the issue of an arrest warrant.

In Personam Matters

Directions in in personam matters will be dealt with by the Procedure Judge (Rares J) on Fridays in an Admiralty and Maritime List.

Michael Wall
District Registrar
(New South Wales & ACT District Registries)

30th January 2008