The purpose of this Practice Note is to clarify how parties and/or lawyers can advise the Court of their forms of address and pronunciation.
The Chief Justice has authorised the issue of the following notice.
Practice Note SC Gen 21
Appearing in Court
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The purpose of this Practice Note is to clarify how parties and/or lawyers can advise the Court of their forms of address and pronunciation.
2. COMMENCEMENT
2.1 This Practice Note was issued on 31 March 2023 and commences on 3 April 2023 and will apply to all proceedings from that date.
3. PRONUNCIATION OF NAMES AND FORMS OF ADDRESS
3.1 The Supreme Court of Victoria is committed to treating all Court participants with equal dignity and respect.
3.2 Parties, lawyers and other participants are welcome to advise the Court of the phonetic pronunciation of names for use in a proceeding and forms of address (such as Ms, Mr, Mx). This includes but is not limited to counsel, solicitors, parties, witnesses, interpreters and entities.
3.3 Information regarding pronunciation and forms of address may be provided:
(a) on the Court’s appearance form or trial plan, by inserting the information in square brackets directly after a name;
(b)when announcing an appearance at the commencement of a hearing, when calling a witness or when mentioning a name relevant to the proceeding for the first time; or
(c) to an associate or other Court officer before a hearing or when requested by a judicial officer or associate during the hearing.
3.4 Legal practitioners are expected to know the correct pronunciation of all names associated with their client’s proceeding.
Vivienne Mahy
Executive Associate to the Chief Justice
31 March 2023