Reducing the Delays: Enhancing New Zealand’s Environment Court
March 2003, Ref. ME464
The Environment Court can be an important step in obtaining approvals for projects under the Resource Management Act. This report examines potential concerns with the backlog of cases before the Environment Court and options for improving the operation of the system. The report identifies the issue of delays before the Court is significantly reducing and will reduce further when the new procedures are fully in place.
Availability:
- Download PDF (1.09 MB)
- Printed copies free from the Ministry for the Environment (email orders@mfe.govt.nz).
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Executive Summary
Introduction
Background
Purpose
Limitations
Section 1: The State of the Delays
- The Court’s increasing workload
- The impact of references
- Cases getting older
- Regional variations
- Most cases settle or withdraw
- Hearing time required for remaining cases
- Summary
Section 2: Forecasting the Court’s Workload
- Plans and policy statements
- Resource consents
- Environmental legal assistance
Section 3: A ‘Reasonable’ Disposal Time
- Resource consent appeals
- References from plans and policy statements
Section 4: Controlling the Supply of Cases
- Complexity of decisions
- Avoiding disputes in the first instance
- Improving first-instance decision-making
- Broadening the scope of objections to consent authorities
- Iwi consultation concerns
- Controlling the right to appeal
- Restricting appeals to grounds raised in the original submission
Section 5: Commissioners
- Perceptions of the commissioner role
- Defining the role of commissioners
- Options for increasing responsibility
- Establish a more transparent process for appointment
Section 6: Effective Case Management
- Changes to forms
- Advice from registry
- Helping lay litigants
- Assigning each case to a case track
- The need to refine the issues and facts
- Administration systems
- The need for additional case management support
- Case management monitoring
- Enforcement of directions
- Parties to take greater responsibility for their cases
- Requests for adjournments
- Controlling the effect of section 271A and 274 parties
- Introducing mechanisms to avoid late settlements
Section 7: Improving Environment Court Hearings
- Use of sound-recording technology
- Lay litigants
- Reviewing the de novo status of hearings
- Circuit court
Section 8: Maximising Mediation
- How does mediation help the Court?
- Attracting more cases to mediation
- Quality mediation
- Avoiding mediation delays
Conclusions
Appendix: A Comparison between the NSW Land and Environment Court and the NZ Environment Court
