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	New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal New South Wales Court of Appeal
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.

The Court was established on 14 April 1980 as the world's first environmental court that was also a superior court of record.

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.