Report No. 186

Section 12 further states as follows:

"In appointing Commissioners, the Minister should ensure, as far as practicable, that the Court is comprised of persons who hold qualifications across the range of areas specified in this subsection."

Clause (2A) of section 12 states that a person may be appointed as a full-time Commissioner or a part-time Commissioner. Clause (2B) of section 12 states that a part-time Commissioner will be treated as guilty of misbehaviour if, 55during the term of his or her appointment, the person appears as an expert witness, or acts as the representative of any party, in proceedings before the Court. Clause (3) states that one of the full-time Commissioners may, by the instrument of the Commissioner's appointment or by a subsequent instrument, be appointed to be Senior Commissioner. Clause (4) points out that Schedule 1 contains the conditions of service of Commissioners.

Section 13 permits appointment of Acting Commissioners for a time not exceeding 12 months to be specified in the instrument of appointment.

Section 14 refers to disqualifications of Commissioners. Section 15 deals with appointment of other officers of the Court.

Section 16 (in Division 2 of Part 3) deals with the jurisdiction of the Court generally. It reads as follows:

Section 16. (1) The Court shall have the jurisdiction vested in it by or under this Act or any other Act.

(1A) The Court also has jurisdiction to hear and dispose of any matter not falling within its jurisdiction under any other provision of this Act or under any other Act, being a matter that is ancillary to a matter that falls within its jurisdiction under any other provision of this Act or under any other Act.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the jurisdiction of the Court is divided into 7 clauses, as provided in this Division."

Section 17 to 21, 21A and 21B deal with these 7 clauses of jurisdiction. Section 17 deals with appellate jurisdiction under various Acts relating to planning and production. Section 18 deals with appeals under statutes relating to local government, miscellaneous appeals and applications which are listed in various clauses of the sections.

Section 19 deals with landtenure, valuation, rating and compensation matter.- viz. appeals and references or proceedings under various Acts. Section 20(1) deals with proceedings under various Acts relating to environmental planning and protection and, development contract, civil enforcement. Section 20(2) states that the Court has the same civil jurisdiction as the Supreme Court would have, but for section 71, to hear and dispose of proceedings:-

"(a) to enforce any right, obligation or duty conferred or imposed by a planning or environmental law or a development contract,

(b) to review, or command, the exercise of a function conferred or imposed by a planning or environmental law or a development contract,

(c) to make declaration of right in relation to any such right, obligation or duty or the exercise of any such functions, and

(d) whether or not as provided by section 68 of the Supreme Court Act, 1970, to award damages for a breach of a development contract."

Subsection (3)(a) gives a list of various Acts as falling within the meaning of as 'planning or environmental law'. Subsection (3)(b) and (c) include within the meaning of 'planning or environmental law', the following, namely:-

"(b) any statutory instrument made or having effect thereunder or made for the purposes thereof, including any deemed environmental planning instrument within the meaning of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 or

(c) as respectively in force at any time, whether before, on or after 1 September, 1980".

Subsection (4) states that the provisions of the Supreme Court Act, 1970 and the rules thereunder, relating to the enforcement of judgments and orders of the Supreme Court apply to the enforcement of any judgment or order of the Court in proceedings referred to in class 4 of its jurisdiction. Subsection (5) states that 'development contract' means an agreement implied by section 15 of the Community Land Management Act 1989, section 281 of the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act, 1973 or section 49 of the Strata Schemes (Leasehold Development) Act, 1986.

Section 21 refers to Class 5 'environment planning and protection' summary enforcement. It states that the Court has jurisdiction to hear and dispose of in a summary manner, proceedings under various statutes (a) to (hb) and clause (i) refers to "any other proceedings for an offence which an Act provides may be taken before, or dealt with by, the Court."

Section 21A (class 6) deals with appeals from convictions relating to environmental offences. It states that the Court has jurisdiction (referred to in this Act as Class 6 of its jurisdiction) to hear and dispose of appeals under Part 5B of the Justices Act, 1902, other than appeals under Division 3A of that Part.

Section 21B (class 7) deals with 'other appeals relating to environmental offences' It states that the Court has jurisdiction (referred to in this Act as class 7 of its jurisdiction) to hear and dispose of appeals under Division 3A of Part 5B of the Justices Act, 1902.

Section 22 deals with the jurisdiction to determine the matter 'completely and finally' to avoid multiplicity of actions while section 23 refers to jurisdiction to pass orders, including interlocutory orders. They are as follows. Section 22 reads as follows:

Section 22: The Court shall, in every matter before the Court, grant either absolutely or on such terms and conditions as the Court thinks just, all remedies to which any of the parties appears to be entitled in respect of a legal or equitable claim properly brought forward by that party in the matter, so that, as far as possible, all matters in controversy between the parties may be completely and finally determined and all multiplicity of proceedings concerning any of those matters, may be avoided."

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