The court had jurisdiction to deal with all serious crimes and major civil claims for damages occurring on the island.
The court was permitted to sit anywhere in Australia as the interests of justice required, and was not confined to hearing a case on the island.
[10] In 1987, a murder trial before the court was aborted by Justice John Gallop on the grounds that no impartial jury could be found among the island's residents.
[11] The trial was subsequently moved to Perth, where a local jury found two men guilty of murdering Soo Ten Chan in order to steal his gambling winnings.
[12] The case exposed a number of issues with Christmas Island's justice system: the local assembly had to pass an ordinance to allow for a jury trial, as there was previously no such legal right, and the federal government subsequently had to amend the Christmas Island Act to allow for the court to be moved to Perth.
Tan had been murdered during the early hours of 12 May 1987 by the infliction of multiple stab wounds to the front and back of his torso and his arms.
On appeal to the Federal Court of Australia, Justices Jenkinson, Spender and French ordered new trials because the jury was not properly directed as to provocation.
The case was unusual in that the defendants were tried on the basis of a murder charge under the Singapore Criminal Code, which continued to apply on Christmas Island, rather than Australian law.
The Court remarked that the case highlighted "the legal twilight" in which Australians on Christmas Island lived.