Editorial commentary : the land and environment court : reforms to the merit appeal process (Environmental and planning law journal)

The New South Wales Land and Environment Court (LEC) was established in 1979. It is one of the oldest specialist environmental courts in the world. Since its establishment, it has created an impressive body of environmental jurisprudence and has been an important catalyst in the development of environmental law in Australia. Its two-tiered structure enables it to declare and enforce the law as well as to review the merits of the decisions of certain bodies. Merit reviews are an important part of the court’s jurisdiction and constitute the majority of its workload. However, the high costs of litigation and proliferation of expert evidence are increasingly placing the court beyond the reach of small developers. A number of reforms have been introduced to address these issues. This article discusses the background and structure of the Court with a particular focus on the merit appeal process. It then examines and evaluates some of the more significant recent reforms.