Order 47.04 of the Supreme Court Rules of provides a mechanism to settle a dispute with respect to jurisdiction.
Order 47.04 (a) provides that:
the Court may order that any question in a proceeding be tried before, at or after the trial of the proceeding, and may state the question or give directions as to the manner in which it shall be stated.
This procedure offers an effective cost-efficient, timely and just means of disposing of points of contention: Bridge and Marine Engineering Pty Ltd v Taylor (No 2) [2005] VSC 154 at [15].
Further, the identification and trial of separate questions pursuant to r 47.04 promotes the ‘early identification and resolution of the substantial questions in controversy.’ This is the objective of case management in the commercial list: David Jones Ltd v Perpetual Ltd [2008] VSC 61 at [43].
If the matter proceeds to a full trial without determining certain questions, such as those with respect to jurisdiction, and it is found ultimately that the Court does not have jurisdiction, then a substantial amount of time and money, both of the parties’ and of the Court’s, might be wasted.
MyLearnedFriends 
Posted on May 14, 2011
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