{"id":"nsw:act-1977-010","name":"Law Courts Limited Act 1977","slug":"law-courts-limited-act-1977","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nsw","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"10 of 1977","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":108295,"registerId":"nsw-act-1977-010-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Act","content":"#### 1 Name of Act\n\n1 Name of Act\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Law Courts Limited Act 1977](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1977-010).","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 2 Definitions\n\n2 Definitions\n\n> In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires—\n> \n> appointed day means the day appointed and notified under section 3 (1).\n> \n> Company means Law Courts Limited, a company incorporated under the [Companies Act 1961](/view/pdf/asmade/act-1961-71).","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Vesting of land described in Schedule 1","content":"#### 3 Vesting of land described in Schedule 1\n\n3 Vesting of land described in Schedule 1\n\n> > (1) On a day to be appointed by the Governor for the purposes of this section and notified by proclamation published in the Gazette, the land described in Schedule 1—\n> > \n> > > (a) becomes Crown lands (as defined in the [Crown Lands Consolidation Act 1913](/view/pdf/asmade/act-1913-7)) to the extent to which it is not Crown lands (as so defined) immediately before the appointed day, and\n> > \n> > > (b) is freed and discharged from all trusts, conditions, encumbrances, dedications, reservations, obligations, estates, interests, contracts (being contracts relating to the disposition of any of the land), charges, rates, rights-of-way or other easements.\n> \n> > (2) On or after the appointed day, a Crown grant of the land described in Schedule 1 may be issued to the Company, and the grant shall be issued subject to such trusts, conditions, covenants, exceptions, reservations and provisions (if any) as the Governor thinks fit and as are specified in the grant.\n> \n> > (3) (Repealed)\n> \n> > (4) No easement for railway purposes vested in the Public Transport Commission of New South Wales is affected by anything contained in or done under the foregoing provisions of this section.\n> \n> > (5) A person who is divested of an estate or interest in any of the land described in Schedule 1 by the operation of subsection (1) has the same claim for compensation that he would have had had the land been resumed or appropriated under the [Public Works Act 1912](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1912-045) and that Act applies to and in respect of the claim as if—\n> > \n> > > (a) the land had been so resumed or appropriated by notification published under section 42 of that Act on the appointed day, and\n> > \n> > > (b) the Minister were the Constructing Authority.\n> \n> **s 3:** Am 2021 No 10, Sch 3.17.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Stamp duty","content":"#### 4 Stamp duty\n\n4 Stamp duty\n\n> No duty is payable under the [Stamp Duties Act 1920](/view/html/repealed/current/act-1920-047) in respect of the Crown grant issued under section 3 (2) or in respect of the transfer to the Company of the land described in Schedule 2.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Rates and taxes","content":"#### 5 Rates and taxes\n\n5 Rates and taxes\n\n> The Company is not liable to pay any rates, taxes or duties under any law of the State, whether that law is enacted or made before or after the commencement of this Act.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Ministers not to be deemed directors","content":"#### 6 Ministers not to be deemed directors\n\n6 Ministers not to be deemed directors\n\n> A Minister of the Crown in right of the State or of the Commonwealth shall be deemed not to be, and never to have been, a director of the Company by reason that the directors of the Company are or have been accustomed to act in accordance with the directions or instructions of any such Minister or Ministers.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Resumption of pedestrian plaza","content":"#### 7 Resumption of pedestrian plaza\n\n7 Resumption of pedestrian plaza\n\n> > (1) In this section, the resumption means the resumption or appropriation, or the resumption and appropriation, purporting to have been effected by the notification published in Gazette No 97 of 18 July 1975 in respect of the land described in Schedule 3 for a pedestrian plaza for the Commonwealth and State Law Courts, Sydney.\n> \n> > (2) The resumption is hereby validated to the extent (if any) to which it would, but for this subsection, be invalid, and the pedestrian plaza referred to in the notification relating to the resumption shall be deemed to be, and to have been at all material times, an authorised work within the meaning of the [Public Works Act 1912](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1912-045).\n> \n> > (3) Compensation is not, and shall be deemed never to have been, payable in respect of the resumption.\n> \n> > (4) The resumption does not affect, and shall be deemed never to have affected, any easement for railway purposes vested in the Public Transport Commission of New South Wales, and every such easement through or under the land described in Schedule 3 shall be deemed to have been specified or described in the notification relating to the resumption as being excepted from the vesting of that land consequent on the resumption.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 8 Regulations\n\n8 Regulations\n\n> The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"Schedule 1","sectionType":"schedule","heading":null,"content":"# Schedule 1\n\nSchedule 1\n\n(Sections 3, 4, 5)\n\nAll that piece or parcel of land situate in the City of Sydney, Parish of St. James and County of Cumberland, being Lot 1 in Deposited Plan No 588101.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"Schedule 2","sectionType":"schedule","heading":null,"content":"# Schedule 2\n\nSchedule 2\n\n(Sections 4, 5)\n\nAll that piece or parcel of land situate in the City of Sydney, Parish of St. James and County of Cumberland, being Lot 2 in Deposited Plan No 217666 and being also the whole of the land comprised in Certificate of Title Volume 9451 Folio 210.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"Schedule 3","sectionType":"schedule","heading":null,"content":"# Schedule 3\n\nSchedule 3\n\n(Section 7)\n\nAll that piece or parcel of land situate in the City of Sydney, Parish of St. James and County of Cumberland, being Lot 1 in Deposited Plan No 559233.","sortOrder":10}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available metadata, the scope of the Act does not appear to have changed from its original 1977 intent. The 2021 update was purely editorial (formatting only), and the 2012 reversal of the repeal restored the Act to its original form rather than amending its substance. No evidence of scope change is present in the materials provided."},"complexity_factors":["The actual operative legislative text was not included in the supplied document — only website metadata and navigation were provided, severely limiting analysis","The Act has an unusual legislative history: it was repealed and then un-repealed within a year (2011–2012), suggesting some complexity in its ongoing purpose and necessity","The subject matter — a company (Law Courts Limited) managing shared court facilities between state and federal governments — involves intergovernmental arrangements that can be structurally complex","The Act dates from 1977 and has had minimal amendment, suggesting either simplicity of purpose or that it has become a legacy instrument"],"plain_english_summary":"This 1977 New South Wales Act concerns Law Courts Limited and the provision and management of court facilities (notably the Law Courts building in Sydney). It primarily affects the company and government bodies responsible for shared federal–NSW court infrastructure.\n\nThe Act was enacted in 1977, briefly repealed in 2011 and restored in 2012; the supplied material lacks the operative provisions, so substantive rights or obligations can’t be summarized here."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Section 3 carries an amendment note (Am 2021 No 10, Sch 3.17), indicating the Act's provisions have been modified since original enactment. The available text is the current form; the amendment note signals a change in scope or detail of s3 but the source does not supply the prior wording or precise nature of that change."},"complexity_factors":["Statutory vesting and discharge of prior interests for a defined set of parcels (s3(1)) creates immediate property-title effects.","Governor discretion to appoint the effective day and to specify terms in Crown grants (s3(1)–(2)) adds administrative and policy discretion.","Cross-references to other statutes for compensation procedures and definitions (Public Works Act 1912 for compensation claims at s3(5); Crown Lands Consolidation Act 1913 for 'Crown lands') require reading multiple Acts.","Tax and fee exemptions affecting state revenue and who bears costs: exemption from stamp duty for the Crown grant and transfers (s4) and exemption from all state rates, taxes and duties for the Company (s5).","Validation of a past resumption while excluding compensation (s7(2)–(3)) alters retrospective rights and produces legal certainty risks and potential disputes about scope.","Explicit protection of existing railway easements limits extinguishment effects (s3(4); s7(4)), creating carve-outs that must be identified against deposited plans.","Regulation‑making power for matters necessary to carry out the Act (s8) permits further detailed prescription without Parliament.","Noted amendment history for s3 (Am 2021 No 10, Sch 3.17) indicates the text has been altered since original enactment, requiring attention to legislative history."],"plain_english_summary":"The Act vests specified Sydney parcels in the Crown and permits Crown grants to Law Courts Limited, freeing the land of prior encumbrances, validating a past pedestrian‑plaza resumption and preserving railway easements. It exempts the Company and specified transfers from stamp duty, state rates, taxes and duties; prior owners may claim compensation as if land were resumed under the Public Works Act (s3(5)) but compensation is excluded for the validated resumption (s7(3)); the Governor sets the appointed day and may prescribe grant conditions and regulations (s3(1–2), s8)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: facilitating the establishment of the Sydney Law Courts complex by creating Law Courts Limited, transferring specific parcels of land to it with associated tax exemptions, and validating the 1975 resumption of the pedestrian plaza. The 2021 amendment appears to be a technical update (likely removing the repealed subsection 3(3) or updating references) rather than an expansion of scope. The Act has not grown beyond its original narrow, project-specific intent."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section ('appointed day' and 'Company')","Straightforward sequential structure with 8 sections plus 3 schedules","Minimal cross-referencing - primarily references to external Acts (Companies Act 1961, Crown Lands Consolidation Act 1913, Public Works Act 1912, Stamp Duties Act 1920) rather than internal cross-references","One repealed subsection (s 3(3)) and one recent amendment noted (2021 No 10, Sch 3.17) but main structure remains simple","Conditional logic is limited to basic temporal triggers ('on the appointed day') and standard savings provisions for railway easements","No nested exceptions or complex definitional chains"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation creates a special legal framework for Law Courts Limited, a company set up to manage land for the Sydney Law Courts complex.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Transfers land to the company**: On a date set by the Governor, specific land in Sydney (described in Schedule 1) becomes Crown land and is freed from any existing mortgages, leases, contracts, or other legal claims. The company then receives a Crown grant (a formal government document transferring land ownership) for this land.\n- **Validates a past land acquisition**: It fixes a legal technicality with a pedestrian plaza that was taken over in 1975 for the law courts, confirming the takeover was valid even if there were procedural problems at the time.\n- **Gives financial exemptions**: The company doesn't have to pay stamp duty (a tax on property transfers) on the land, and is completely exempt from all state rates and taxes.\n- **Protects ministers**: It clarifies that government ministers aren't legally considered \"directors\" of the company just because they give instructions to the company's board.\n- **Protects railway easements**: Special legal rights for railways running through the land are preserved and not affected by the land transfers.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Law Courts Limited (the company managing the Sydney Law Courts)\n- Anyone who previously owned or had interests in the land described (they can claim compensation)\n- The NSW and Commonwealth governments\n- The railway authority (Public Transport Commission)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is essentially a \"one-off\" piece of legislation to solve a specific problem: establishing the legal and physical home for Sydney's major courts. It uses special powers to clear the land of existing legal complications, gives the managing company significant tax advantages, and fixes up a historical legal irregularity with the pedestrian plaza. It's a good example of how governments use specific Acts to manage major public building projects."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/law-courts-limited-act-1977","history":"/api/acts/law-courts-limited-act-1977/history","analysis":"/api/acts/law-courts-limited-act-1977/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/law-courts-limited-act-1977/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/law-courts-limited-act-1977/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/law-courts-limited-act-1977/documents"}}