Who is involved in cases in the Environment Court?
The Court is made up of Environment Judges and Environment Commissioners. Commissioners have knowledge and experience in areas such as local government, resource management, environmental science, and the Treaty of Waitangi. An Environment Court usually consists of at least one Environment Judge and one or more Environment Commissioners. The Principal Environment Judge may give the power to hear and decide proceedings to an Environment Commissioner.
The Registrar and his or her staff manage the administrative functions of the Court. They may provide advice on the requirements for lodging appeals or other proceedings, but do not give any legal advice. They may also provide information about proceedings that have already been lodged with the Court.
The appellant is the person or group making an appeal. In some cases the person who lodges the proceedings is called an applicant, depending on what the action is. The respondent is the person or group against whose decision or actions a case has been lodged.
The media and the public can attend hearings, but not mediation sessions or cases in which the Environment Court orders that the evidence is to be heard in private. Sometimes the Court may order the evidence is not to be published.
Proceedings in the Environment Court will often involve a territorial authority or regional council (also called local authorities). They could be the party that lodges the proceedings, or be the respondent in an appeal against one of their decisions.
