Australian state discovers magistrates have taken wrong oath for 30 years

The island state of Tasmania insists court decisions for the past 30 years will remain valid after discovering judicial officers must be sworn in before the Queen's representative under an 1869 statute

The Australian state of Tasmania's magistrates have not been sworn in correctly for the past 30 years after discovering that an 1869 statute requires the Queen's representative to be present.

The government of the island state is fixing the law this week but says tens of thousands of criminal convictions and jail sentences will remain valid.

Authorities recently came across the details of a 146-year-old law stating that all magistrates should be sworn in before the Governor, or Queen's representative, or a Supreme Court judge – a requirement that has not been followed for decades.

Following the discovery earlier this month, the government swore in all judicial officers, including coroners, magistrates and judges, for a second time to ensue their positions were valid.

Will Hodgman, the state premier, described the slip-up as an "unfortunate anomaly".

Legislation to fix the problem will be retrospective and will allow future magistrates to be sworn in before a fellow magistrate.

Vanessa Goodwin, the state's attorney-general, said the government had received legal advice which said the discovery did not invalidate previous court decisions. She said the requirement to swear the oath before the Governor was "impractical and outdated".

"It has recently been established that the process as outlined in the act has not been used for the past three decades," she said.

"Legal doctrine upholds the validity of any decision or action that has been taken by magistrates and justices to date, and will continue to provide protection for a reasonable period of time, to allow action to be taken to correct the anomaly.

"It is appropriate that, having identified this potential issue, the Liberal government takes immediate action to both update the relevant legislative provisions and ensure appointments remain valid."

Matthew Verney, from the state's law society, told The Hobart Mercury earlier this month: "It's a good thing that it has been noticed, remedied, and publicised. All of that reinforces confidence in the court system."