Restorative justice intervention in an environmental law context: Garrett v Williams, prosecutions under the Resource Management Act 1991 (NZ), and beyond.

Source: (2008) Environmental and Planning Law Journal. 25(4):263-271.

This article considers the applicability of restorative justice intervention in the form of restorative justice conferencing to New South Wales environmental law. Although the legislation that confers criminal jurisdiction on the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales does not specifically mention or refer to restorative justice conferencing, it would appear that such conferencing would be one way of achieving the objectives of environmental legislation, and could be considered during sentencing. Guidance can be gained from restorative justice conferencing that has taken place in the New Zealand environmental law context, as well as the seminal decision of Preston CJ in Garrett v Williams (2007) 151 LGERA 92 in the New South Wales context. Restorative justice conferencing may serve as the vehicle through which communication between victim and offender is facilitated, leading to better environmental outcomes. (author’s abstract)