Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

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Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
Coat of Arms of New South Wales.svg
Established14 April 1980;45 years ago (1980-04-14)
Jurisdiction New South Wales, Australia
Location Sydney
Authorised by Parliament of New South Wales via the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW)
Appeals to
Appeals from Local Court of New South Wales (with respect to an environmental offence under the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW))
Website lec.nsw.gov.au
Chief Judge
Currently Brian Preston
Since14 November 2005 (2005-11-14)

The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW) to hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court's jurisdiction, confined to the state of New South Wales, Australia, includes merits review, judicial review, civil enforcement, criminal prosecution, criminal appeals and civil claims about planning, environmental, land, mining and other legislation. [1]

Contents

History

The Court was established on 1 April 1980 as the world's first environmental court that was also a superior court of record. [1]

A Parliamentary review in 2001 noted "It is evident that there is some dissatisfaction within sections of the community about the role and operations of the Court". [2]

In Environmental Protection and Legal Change (Federation Press, 1992) Wilcox J recounts how he helped draft a submission on behalf of the Bar Council recommending that the proposed Land and Environment Court (LEC) be established as part of the NSW Supreme Court. Wilcox J notes that while Paul Landa (then Minister of Planning and Environment) did carefully review the submissions and follow many of the suggestions, he decided to establish the LEC as a separate court. Shortly after this decision was made, Wilcox J ran into Landa. Wilcox J recalls:

I asked him why he was not going to make the [LEC] part of the Supreme Court. He replied: "What, and lose the power to appoint the judges?" The point, of course, was that as Minister for Planning and Environment, he would have administrative control of a separate court, but the Supreme Court was under the administrative control of the Attorney General. ... This is why the [LEC] is not part of the Supreme Court. There is no more intellectually respectable reason than a Minister's desire for power. [3] (emphasis added)

Structure and jurisdiction

The Court is a superior court of record. It consists of a Chief Judge, several Judges, and Commissioners. The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal and the New South Wales Court of Appeal, both divisions of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, may hear appeals from the Court, depending on the nature of case. Appellants on constitutional issues may seek special leave for the matter to be heard before the High Court of Australia in certain circumstances.

The Court has appellate jurisdiction over the Local Court of New South Wales with respect to an environmental offence under the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW). [1]

Current composition

Judges have the same rank, title, status and precedence as the Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Judges preside over all Aboriginal land claims matters, most land tenure and compensation matters, and can hear matters in all other Classes of the Court's jurisdiction.

The Judges, in order of seniority, are as follows:

NameTitleTerm beganTerm endedTime in officeNotes
Justice Brian Preston Chief Judge14 November 2005present20 years, 46 days [4]
Justice Nicola Pain Judges18 March 2002present23 years, 287 days
Justice Rachel Pepper 1 May 2009present16 years, 243 days
Justice Tim Moore 4 January 2016present9 years, 360 days
Justice John Robson 5 July 2016present9 years, 178 days
Justice Sandra Duggan 10 September 2019present6 years, 111 days

Past Judicial officers and decision makers

Past Chief Judges

NameTitleTerm endedTime in officeNotes
Justice Jim McClelland 14 April 19802 June 19855 years, 49 days [4]
Justice Jerrold Cripps 3 June 19851 April 19926 years, 303 days
Justice Mahla Pearlman AO 6 April 19923 July 200311 years, 88 days
Justice Peter McClellan 25 August 20031 September 20052 years, 7 days

Former Judges

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About us". Land and Environment Court. Government of New South Wales. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  2. ↑ Smith, Stewart (September 2001). A Review of the Land and Environment Court (PDF) (Report). NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service. p. 21. Briefing Paper No 13/01.
  3. ↑ Bonyhady, Tim (1992). Environmental Protection and Legal Change. Sydney: Federation Press. pp. 218–219. ISBN   1862870934.
  4. 1 2 "Judicial officers and decision makers". Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. Government of New South Wales. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
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