The Court receives appeals from Magistrate Courts in Tasmania in both criminal and civil matters. Committal proceedings, which are used in criminal matters to establish whether there is sufficient evidence against an accused person to warrant the time and expense of a trial, were abolished in Tasmania in 2000 with the amendment of the "Justices Act 1959" (Tas). The "Justices Act 1959" now provides that where there has been a plea of not guilty by an accused, there must be an order committing them for trial in the Supreme Court.