Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989

Trade in endangered, threatened, and exploited species

12: Appeals to District Court on question of law

You could also call this:

"Challenging a decision: appealing to the District Court about endangered species permits"

Illustration for Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989

If you apply for a permit or certificate and do not agree with the Director-General's decision under section 11, you can appeal to the District Court. You must do this within one month of receiving the decision. The court will then hear your appeal and make a decision based on the law.

The court can confirm, reverse, or modify the Director-General's decision, or send it back to the Director-General. The court can also make any decision that the Director-General could have made. When you appeal, the Director-General's original decision will still apply until the court makes a new decision, unless the court says otherwise.

The court can also decide who pays the costs of the appeal, which means the expenses related to the court case. This cost can be paid by either you or the Director-General, depending on what the court decides.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on 18 September 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM146541.

Topics:

Environment and resources > ConservationCrime and justice > Courts and legal help

11: Grant of permits and certificates, or

"Getting a permit to trade in endangered species: how it works"

13: Permit to export endangered species, or

"Getting a permit to safely export endangered animals from New Zealand"

Part 1Trade in endangered, threatened, and exploited species

12Appeals to District Court on question of law

Any applicant for a permit or certificate who is dissatisfied with any decision of the Director-General under section 11 on a question of law may, within 1 month after notice of that decision has been received by the applicant, appeal to the District Court against that decision.
Every appeal under this section shall be heard and determined in accordance with rules of court and this section.
The court shall, as soon as practicable, hear the appeal, and may confirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the Director-General, or may refer the matter back to the Director-General in accordance with rules of court, and may give any decision that the Director-General could have given in respect of the matter.
Nothing in this section shall give the court power to review any part of the Director-General's decision other than the part against which the appellant has appealed.
Subject to any order of the court, every decision of the Director-General against which an appeal is lodged shall continue in force and have effect according to its tenor pending the determination of the appeal.
On any appeal under this section, the court may make an order for the payment by the Director-General, or by the appellant, of the costs incurred in respect of the appeal by the other party to the appeal.