Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
Established14 April 1980 (1980-04-14)
JurisdictionNew South Wales, Australia
LocationSydney
Authorized byParliament of New South Wales via the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW)
Appeals to
Appeals fromLocal Court of New South Wales (with respect to an environmental offence under the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW))
Websitelec.nsw.gov.au
Chief Judge
CurrentlyBrian 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]

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]

Structure and jurisdiction

The Court is a superior court of record. It consists of a Chief Judge, severals 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 PrestonChief Judge14 November 2005present18 years, 55 days[3]
Justice Nicola PainJudges18 March 2002present21 years, 296 days
Justice Rachel Pepper1 May 2009present14 years, 252 days
Justice Tim Moore4 January 2016present8 years, 4 days
Justice John Robson5 July 2016present7 years, 187 days
Justice Sandra Duggan10 September 2019present4 years, 120 days

Past Judicial officers and decision makers

Past Chief Judges

NameTitleTerm endedTime in officeNotes
Justice Jim McClelland14 April 19802 June 19855 years, 49 days[3]
Justice Jerrold Cripps3 June 19851 April 19926 years, 303 days
Justice Mahla Pearlman AO6 April 19923 July 200311 years, 88 days
Justice Peter McClellan25 August 20031 September 20052 years, 7 days

Former Judges

  • The Honourable Justice Terry Sheahan AO
  • The Honourable Justice Malcolm Craig
  • The Honourable Justice Peter Biscoe
  • The Honourable Justice Paul Stein
  • The Honourable Justice Neal Bignold
  • The Honourable Justice Angus Talbot – 1992 to 2007
  • The Honourable Justice David Lloyd
  • The Honourable Justice Jayne Jagot

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. 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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