Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

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]

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)

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 2005 (2005-11-14)present17 years, 329 days[3]
Justice Nicola PainJudges18 March 2002 (2002-03-18)present21 years, 205 days
Justice Rachel Pepper1 May 2009 (2009-05-01)present14 years, 161 days
Justice Tim Moore4 January 2016 (2016-01-04)present7 years, 278 days
Justice John Robson5 July 2016 (2016-07-05)present7 years, 96 days
Justice Sandra Duggan10 September 2019 (2019-09-10)present4 years, 29 days

Past Judicial officers and decision makers

Past Chief Judges
NameTitleTerm endedTime in officeNotes
Justice Jim McClelland14 April 1980 (1980-04-14)2 June 1985 (1985-06-02)5 years, 49 days[3]
Justice Jerrold Cripps3 June 1985 (1985-06-03)1 April 1992 (1992-04-01)6 years, 303 days
Justice Mahla Pearlman AO6 April 1992 (1992-04-06)3 July 2003 (2003-07-03)11 years, 88 days
Justice Peter McClellan25 August 2003 (2003-08-25)1 September 2005 (2005-09-01)2 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. "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. "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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