Al Noor Mosque where 51 people were killed in a terrorist attack in 2019. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

The Court of Appeal will this week consider an application by the white supremacist who murdered 51 people in the Christchurch terror attacks to vacate his guilty pleas and stand trial.

Australian Brenton Tarrant is seeking leave to appeal his convictions and life sentence for the massacres at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on 15 March 2019.

In March 2020 he pleaded guilty at the High Court to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one terrorism charge.

In August that year he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, which was the harshest sentence available to the court.

The terrorist now wants to appeal his convictions and sentence although the appeals were filed late and the Court of Appeal must now decide if they should proceed.

The 35-year-old is expected to give evidence during the week-long hearing.

The court is primarily considering the application to vacate his guilty pleas with the central issue being whether the terrorist was incapable of making rational decisions at the time of his pleas because of what he claims were torturous and inhumane prison conditions.

If the court grants the application to vacate the pleas, the case will be sent back to the High Court for the terrorist to stand trial.

If the court declines the application then a further hearing will consider the sentence appeal later this year.

The application will be heard by Court of Appeal president Justice Christine French, Justice Susan Thomas and Justice David Collins.

Court buildings will be under increased security with the courtroom limited to lawyers, media, officials and other authorised people.

The hearing will be streamed to an adjoining courtroom at the Court of Appeal and to the Law Courts in Christchurch for victims and their families to view the hearing via a delayed broadcast.

The terrorist is also expected to give evidence to the Coroners Court after the High Court cleared the way for him to be called as a witness, despite objections from survivors and victims' families.

He was previously interviewed by a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terror attack.

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The court will hear evidence on an extension of time for the terrorist to appeal his conviction and sentence in February next year.

Survivors and victims' families had objected to hearing from the white supremacist as part of the coronial inquest into the attacks.

The pair fear repercussions for themselves and families for being associated with the terrorist, a court has heard.

The 15 March terror attacks left a trail of physical and psychological devastation in their wake, according to a new study on the psychological impact of the attacks

The deputy chief coroner says victims, survivors and families of 51 murdered worshippers wanted more answers than the Royal Commission of Inquiry gave them.

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