(No, don’t worry. I don’t intend to link this post to any of Cliff Richard’s work.)

It’s inevitable that we’re going to take a break from posting here over the seasonal holiday. There’s three good reasons:

1) We’re both taking time off (actually, by the time we suspend posting, I’ll already have gone);

2) Time spent re-charging the batteries is always a good investment in the future; and

3) There’s nothing to be gained by clogging your inbox full of stuff that simply gets deleted on your return.

In keeping with this site’s focus on the summary jurisdiction, it would be appropriate if we took a break when the court rose, and came back when it resumes again next year. But looking at the Magistrates’ Court calendar, they’re pretty much running straight through, perhaps with a quiet period between Christmas and New Year. Not enough.

So we cast a wider net, and noted the Supreme Court’s regular listings in Melbourne, which are grouped around 4 terms – just like the academic year, in fact.

After some discussion, we’ve decided this year to adopt the Supreme Court’s calendar for this website and rise when that Court does (on the 18th December) and resume next year when the Supreme Court sits (the 1st February 2010).

Obviously this means that the Evidence Act and Criminal Procedure Act will have come into force in our absence. But it’s unlikely that anything ground-breaking will occur in the first four weeks of its application. And we’ll leave the door open to an earlier resumption if anything momentous occurs.

Season’s greetings!