Kotsis v Kotsis

For the reasons I have given I have reached the conclusion that the Commonwealth Act does not reveal an intention that the federal jurisdiction with which the Supreme Courts of the States are invested should be exercised only by judges. The jurisdiction may therefore be exercised by the courts through the organizations provided by the State law. Since the State law enables a deputy registrar to exercise on behalf of the Supreme Court of New South Wales jurisdiction in respect of proceedings for orders on account of costs, the invested power may be exercised by a deputy registrar when an application for interim costs is made under the Commonwealth Act in a matrimonial cause pending in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The conclusion that I have reached accords with that reached by the Supreme Court of South Australia in Thomas v Thomas [1] in relation to the position of masters of that court. I have derived considerable assistance from the judgments in that case. I am unable to agree with the decision in Ullrich v Ullrich [2] where a contrary conclusion was reached.