Once an application for a declaration about the lawfulness of land use or development is brought in the Planning & Environment Court under s 4.1.21(1) IPA, that court has exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide it, and the Supreme Court cannot grant a stay or assume jurisdiction over the same matter. However, if no such application has been brought in the Planning & Environment Court, the Supreme Court retains jurisdiction to determine the same questions. The jurisdiction conferred by s 4.1.21 IPA is specific and limited and will be strictly construed so as to minimise its impingement on the wide jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
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