Section 101(1)(a) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW) provides that an appeal shall lie to the Court of Appeal from a “judgment or order” of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in a Division. According to the authorities, a “judgment or order” in this context means an operative judicial act, i.e. the formal judgment or order which when entered is binding upon the parties and definitive of their legal rights. Therefore, a judge’s reasons for judgment are not of themselves a “judgment or order”.
In TriCare (Hastings) Limited v Allen, the appellant sought to appeal against obiter remarks of the trial judge contained in his reasons for judgment and not against the judgment or order. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal held that the appeal was misconceived and incompetent. Read about the case here.
