Background To Establishment of Court
The Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Island consists of approximately 27 coral islands located in the Indian Ocean about 2700 kilometres north-west of Perth, Western Australia. William Keeling discovered the uninhabited Islands in 1609. Alexander Hare first settled them in 1820 with people of Malay origin. In 1827 John Clunies-Ross settled on the Island to harvest coconuts. The Islands are named after the coconut “Cocos Nucifera”. The British Government annexed the Islands in 1857. The Islands became a territory of Australia on 23 November 1955 after having been administered as a dependency of the British Crown Colony of Singapore. As a result of the transfer in 1955, all laws in force before the transfer were to continue except as amended or repealed by Ordinance. The laws inherited have been described as “a complex legal legacy”. They include United Kingdom law, Straits Settlements laws, and Singapore laws. Punishments, such as whipping and beating, were still available as options for dealing with criminal offences.
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