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 stateofNew 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 | |
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Established | 14 April 1980; 44 years ago (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) |
Appeals to |
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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 |
Since | 14 November 2005 (2005-11-14) |
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]
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]
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 (2005-11-14) | present | 18 years, 214 days | [3] |
Justice Nicola Pain | Judges | 18 March 2002 (2002-03-18) | present | 22 years, 89 days | |
Justice Rachel Pepper | 1 May 2009 (2009-05-01) | present | 15 years, 45 days | ||
Justice Tim Moore | 4 January 2016 (2016-01-04) | present | 8 years, 163 days | ||
Justice John Robson | 5 July 2016 (2016-07-05) | present | 7 years, 346 days | ||
Justice Sandra Duggan | 10 September 2019 (2019-09-10) | present | 4 years, 279 days |
Name | Title | Term ended | Time in office | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Justice Jim McClelland | 14 April 1980 (1980-04-14) | 2 June 1985 (1985-06-02) | 5 years, 49 days | [3] |
Justice Jerrold Cripps | 3 June 1985 (1985-06-03) | 1 April 1992 (1992-04-01) | 6 years, 303 days | |
Justice Mahla Pearlman AO | 6 April 1992 (1992-04-06) | 3 July 2003 (2003-07-03) | 11 years, 88 days | |
Justice Peter McClellan | 25 August 2003 (2003-08-25) | 1 September 2005 (2005-09-01) | 2 years, 7 days |