LAND ADMINISTRATION ACT 1997 - SECT 223
LAND ADMINISTRATION ACT 1997 - SECT 223
223 . Court action for compensation, commencing and procedure on
(1) A claimant may not
commence or maintain an action for compensation except as provided in
section 220 or 221.
(2) A claimant may not
commence proceedings unless the claimant has given the acquiring authority 30
days notice.
(3) If a person is
entitled to bring an action for compensation under this Part, the action may
be commenced and maintained in a court of competent jurisdiction and is to be
heard and determined in the same manner as ordinary actions, with ordinary
rights of appeal in regard to the amount of compensation awarded or to any
question of law or fact or of mixed law and fact, except that no question is
to be determined by a jury.
(4) If an action for
compensation has been instituted in respect of the taking of an interest in
any portion of land, the court may, on the application of the defendant, by
order direct any other person claiming compensation in respect of the taking
of any interest in that portion of land, or who appears to have had, at the
date of the taking, an interest in that portion of land, to join as a
plaintiff in the action within a time specified in the order.
(5) If a person so
ordered fails to join as a plaintiff in the action within the time specified
in the order, the person is absolutely debarred thereafter from instituting an
action for compensation against the defendant or from referring to the State
Administrative Tribunal any claim for compensation in respect of that portion
of land.
(6) If, because of the
joinder of a new plaintiff or for any other reason, the total compensation
claimed in an action for compensation exceeds the jurisdiction of the court
concerned —
(a) that
court is to refrain from proceeding further with the action; and
(b) the
action may, on application by any party to a court of competent jurisdiction,
be removed to that court and is to proceed in that court as if it had been
instituted in that court.
(7) If the title of
the claimant to an interest or part of an interest is being disputed, the
proceedings under this section, unless the claimant admits the objection to
the claimant’s title, are to be adjourned pending the judgment of the
Supreme Court on that issue under section 216.
(8) On the trial of
the action, the court is to —
(a)
determine the amount of compensation payable by the defendant to the plaintiff
in respect of the taking of the interest in land, having regard solely to the
provisions of this Part and in particular to the matters prescribed in
Division 5 and section 256; and
(b) if 2
or more persons are entitled to share the compensation — determine the
amount payable to each person and the manner in which it is to be paid.
(9) The costs of the
action are at the discretion of the court.
[Section 223 amended: No. 55 of 2004 s. 569; No. 4
of 2023 s. 92.]