On the 11th December 2023, a new division of the High court was established, specifically tasked with handling planning and environmental matters. The goal behind this was to increase consistency and efficiency in the adjudication planning and environmental matters, while also prioritising environmental consciousness.
In this article, our team at Setanta Solicitors aims to answer some of the key questions surrounding this change and provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the purpose and implications of this new division.
Legislative Timeline
Prior to 2023, Planning and Environmental Cases were usually dealt with through the regular High Court judicial review process. This process however was not specialised to Planning and Environmental matters, as the new division is, and they often encountered significant delays.
In response to these delays, the High Court introduced the ‘Planning and Environment List’ with several proposed changes set to be implemented. This list became operational as of April 2023. Subsequently, in December 2023, the ‘Commercial, Planning and Environment List‘ was further expanded with the establishment of the new High Court Division.
The Legislation behind the new Planning Division of the High Court
The new High Court division serves to implement the ‘Planning and Environment List’. Therefore, when seeking to understand the new High Court division it is helpful to first dissect the ‘Planning, and Environment List’.
Goals of the Planning and Environment List
The list intended to provide the specialist court at a later date, but also had other aims including;- Introduction of Satellite Litigation Rules[1]
- Introducing satellite litigation rules to bring clarity and structure to complex planning procedures, thereby minimising delays in the satellite litigation process.
- Streamlined Handling of Environmental Cases
- The new system aims for a more efficient approach to handling environmental cases by reducing the necessity for admission applications.
- These applications are formal requests made by parties involved in a legal case to have their case officially recognized and processed within the Planning and Environmental List.
- Inclusion of Strategic Infrastructure Development Cases
- Notably, the list now incorporates legal matters concerning strategic infrastructure development, signifying a departure from past practices[2].
- Certainty on Cost Rules
- Prior to incurring costs, the list aims to offer certainty on cost rules, providing parties with clear expectations.
- Prioritisation of Non-Determinative Issues
- Issues not determinative by domestic or EU law are prioritised within the list.
- Timely Judgments
- Striving to balance judge workload, the list aims to deliver timely judgments, ideally within a 2-month period.
- Cost Minimization and Resource Maximization
- Through effective case management, the list aims to minimise costs and optimise resource utilisation.
[1] Satellite litigation refers to legal proceedings that arise between parties involved in the substantive litigation, related to the legal or factual matters of the main case in question.
[2] “Strategic infrastructure development cases” refer to legal matters concerning significant infrastructure projects that are of national importance or have strategic significance.
Types of Cases Covered by the Planning and Environment List[3]
EU Legislation Related Cases
Within the List cases involving certain EU directives, regulations or instruments can be heard by the High Court division. Examples of the kinds of EU law matters which will be dealt with by this division include issues surrounding; water treatment, habitats, noise, waste management, air quality, marine environment, etc. This includes challenges to the validity or sufficiency of transposition of EU law into national legislation.
National Legislation Related Cases
The scope of the types of cases which this new division of the High Court can adjudicate on are laid out in the Planning and Environment List. It encompasses proceedings related to 16 designated areas of national legislation, which include legislation pertaining to:
- Land use
- Marine environment
- Agriculture and fisheries
- Species and habitats
- Climate
- Air and soil
- Heritage
- Other environmental aspects
[3] https://www.courts.ie/planning-and-environment-court-high-court
The Operation of the New High Court Planning Division
Judges and the New Planning and Environmental Division of the High Court
There will be 3 full-time judges within this division, which will be run by Mr Justice Humphreys. All judges will be ‘specialists’ and have a high level of expertise in the area of Planning and Environmental law. This is important as ‘Mr Justice Humphreys described the types of cases to be covered by the court as “document-heavy, technicality-heavy and EU-law-heavy”’.[4]
[4] https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/top-stories/2023/december/new-high-court-planning-division-is-launched
Other features of the High Court Division’s operations
In addition to judicial expertise, the Division aims to leverage new technology, procedures, and rules to enhance the High Court’s capacity in managing Planning cases more effectively.
These changes include;
- Introduction of a new Practice Direction.
- This provides that cases will be assigned different priorities.
- The goal of this is to ensure that urgent cases can be dealt with efficiently and not be subject to long waiting times.
- Examples of this included cases which have significant environmental impacts of large-scale projects of great importance.
- Paperless hearings
- Pleadings are uploaded to an online platform instead of being physically delivered to the judge, facilitating a more efficient and environmentally friendly process.
- Remote Monday listings
- Listings are to be scheduled remotely on Mondays, rather than being in Court, allowing for increased flexibility and accessibility for both parties and judges.
- Hearings to be limited to 3 days
- Generally, Hearings will be limited to 3 days. This represents a departure from previous practices where planning hearings could extend for two to three weeks.
- Transparency through weekly publication of lists of reserved judgments
- Lists of judgments that are pending publication will be made available to the public every sitting week, aiming to bring more transparency and accountability into the judicial process.
Conclusion
In summary, the introduction of New Planning & Environmental Division of the High Court marks a significant change in the legal processes surrounding planning law and aims to revamp and improve upon the current system.
For stakeholders and individuals adjacent in planning matters, it is important to stay up to date with these changes as they unfold. The introduction of the High Court division has already brought about significant transformations and is likely to have even more far-reaching implications that may not be immediately apparent. Thus, maintaining communication with experts in planning law is invaluable. At Setanta Solicitors, our legal team has extensive experience in the area of planning law and is always ready to offer assistance whenever needed. Reach out to us at Setanta Solicitors at +353 (0) 1 215 0168
or
info@setantasolicitors.ie
