Internet enquiry system for Federal Court matters launched

The Federal Court of Australia has implemented an internet enquiry system called eSearch, which provides current information about any matter before the court.

eSearch is a general utility, however, it overcomes a specific problem that sometimes arises when matters heard before the commissioner of patents, the registrar of trademarks or the registrar of designs are appealed to the Federal Court. The procedures for the appeal are governed entirely by the court and practitioners wishing to establish the status of the appeal have at times expected the commissioner or the registrars to have that knowledge. Unfortunately, the day-to-day status of Federal Court matters is typically not known to the commissioner or registrars.

The information that practitioners can now obtain through eSearch includes:

• name of each participant in the case;
  
  
• date the case commenced;
  
  
• types of document filed in the case and the date on which each document was filed;
  
  
• past and future hearing dates;
  
  
• current status of the case; and
  
  
• where available, text of orders made.

The database is updated in real time and includes all cases that have commenced since January 1 1984. As the database is being continually updated, the results of a search may vary from time to time as new information is entered.

Julian Gyngell, Solicitor and Attorney, Wahroonga