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 14 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:

Name Title Term began Term ended Time in office Notes
Justice Brian Preston Chief Judge 14 November 2005 present 11 years, 23 days [2]
Justice Terry Sheahan AO Judges 9 April 1997 present 19 years, 242 days
Justice Nicola Pain 18 March 2002 present 14 years, 264 days
Justice Rachel Pepper 1 May 2009 present 7 years, 220 days
Justice Tim Moore 4 January 2016 present 338 days
Justice John Robson 5 July 2016 present 155 days

Past Judicial officers and decision makers

Past Chief Judges

Name Title Term ended Time in office Notes
Justice Jim McClelland 14 April 1980 2 June 1985 5 years, 49 days [2]
Justice Jerrold Cripps 3 June 1985 1 April 1992 6 years, 303 days
Justice Mahla Pearlman AO 6 April 1992 3 July 2003 11 years, 88 days
Justice Peter McClellan 25 August 2003 1 September 2005 2 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. 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.

External links

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