Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales
Established 14 April 1980 (1980-04-14)
Jurisdiction New South Wales, Australia
Location Sydney
Authorized by Parliament of New South Wales via the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW)
Decisions are appealed to
Decisions are heard for appeals from Local Court of New South Wales (with respect to an environmental offence under the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW))
Website www.lec.justice.nsw.gov.au
Chief Judge
Currently Brian Preston
Since 14 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]

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 2005present12 years, 332 days[2]
Justice Terry Sheahan AOJudges9 April 1997present21 years, 186 days
Justice Nicola Pain18 March 2002present16 years, 208 days
Justice Rachel Pepper1 May 2009present9 years, 164 days
Justice Tim Moore4 January 2016present2 years, 281 days
Justice John Robson5 July 2016present2 years, 99 days

Past Judicial officers and decision makers

Past Chief Judges

NameTitleTerm endedTime in officeNotes
Justice Jim McClelland14 April 19802 June 19855 years, 49 days[2]
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 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. 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.
  • "Land & Environment Court". Justice NSW. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
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