grounds for JR (irrationality)

Question 1

when does irrationality apply?

Answer 1

to a decision which is so outrageous in its defiance of logic or of accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied his mind to the question to be decided could have arrived at it

Question 2

when will an authority’s decision be unlawful?

Answer 2

if they are so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could have done or made them, they will be unlawful

Question 3

what is the standard required to establish irrationality?

Answer 3

very high
due to judicial deference
Wednesbury test

Question 4

what are the criticisms of irrationality?

Answer 4

a decision being unreasonable is not sufficient to justify the courts getting involved
no definition of what reasonableness is

Question 5

what does proportionality refer to?

Answer 5

in situations where a public authority makes a decision which results in a person’s fundamental rights being qualified it must show that it was proportionate otherwise it will be unlawful

Question 6

when will the qualification of a fundamental right be proportionate?

Answer 6

de Freitas [1999] - if the following questions can be answered yes:

1. was there a legitimate aim that justified qualifying the rights of an individual
2. was what the public authority actually did, done for the purposes of securing the legitimate aim
3. did the public authority go no further than was strictly necessary in order to achieve the legitimate aim
4. has a fair balance been struck between the rights of the individual affected and the wider public interest