John Bollard (1940 – 27 April 2009) was

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's principal Environment Court

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

from April 2003 until his death and had served on the Environment Court (earlier the Planning Tribunal) from April 1988 until his death in Auckland.

Background

Bollard established himself as a civil litigation lawyer and partner in the firm now known as ''Brookfields'' in the 1970s, obtaining an M Jur degree with distinction in the field of

commercial law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and business engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a branc ...

. In 1980 he began specialising in town planning and general

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

matters, and during the early 1980s Bollard acted as counsel for the

Manukau City Council Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

, the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, and the

Auckland Regional Authority The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The ARC ...

(as it then was), and for eight other authorities within the

greater Auckland Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...

area and the Bay of Plenty. He appeared extensively before the Planning Tribunal, High Court and

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

, featuring in over twenty reported cases. Bollard was also active in

law society A law society is an association of lawyers with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors are regulated ...

affairs, serving on numerous committees and sub-committees. He has authored many articles, particularly on the Court's function and progress, and has addressed seminars and working sessions staged by local government and professional bodies. He was a lead speaker at the Environment Session of the Xth Commonwealth Law Conference in 1993. Bollard's judicial work involved various cases of notable public interest, including the first significant Resource Management Act 1991 offence trial and sentencing, known as the ''Machinery Movers'' case, the location of the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Sky Tower, the

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

Maori activist prosecution, provision of night-game lighting at

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

, and adjudicating on many planning issues particularly in relation to Auckland's North Shore and the Bay of Plenty.New Zealand Planning Institute Conference 2007: Keynote Speakers
John Bollard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bollard, John 1940 births 2009 deaths Environmental planners 20th-century New Zealand lawyers 20th-century New Zealand judges 21st-century New Zealand judges