Where Planning Meets the Law: The Rise of Appeal Tribunals for Deciding Land-use Disputes

Planning-related conflicts have been well documented in academic literature. However, the appeal tribunal, a prominent site where these conflicts are deliberated, remains an underexamined area of study. Where appeal tribunals are addressed, the literature has not focused much attention on appellate bodies or the contents of their decisions. The main purpose of this article is to explore appeal tribunals in the field of land-use planning. This is done through an exploratory survey and reorganization of current literature. The article highlights the international prevalence of appeal tribunals, offers insight about their role, points to existing gaps in knowledge, and explores future research needs.