Court Records As Archives : The Need For Law Reform To Ensure Access

Since its establishment in 1976, the Federal Court of Australia (the Federal Court) has served as a site for the disputation, negotiation and resolution of issues fundamentally important to Australian society. It does so in the context of Australia’s constitutional system that adheres to the rule of law and open justice, in order to enforce the rights of individuals and navigate the boundaries of the powers of the state. As a ‘superior court of record’, 2 the court’s collected case files constitute a permanent record of the proceedings before it.