Judicial review Flashcards
What is judicial review?
This is about how courts oversee the government’s actions under administrative law. Courts serve a different role than Parliament in checking the government. Judges are impartial, not involved in politics, and can only review government actions if someone whose rights were affected brings a case to them.
Purpose of JR
Allows courts to ensure that executive bodies are not abusing their powers
What is the legal basis for JR?
Senior courts Act
Does Judicial review uphold the constitution by ensuring everything is fair?
Yes, it maintains fairness and holds the executive bodies acocuntable for their actions
Two types of JR claims
traditional JR and claims under the Human Rights Act (HRA). Each type has its own criteria and potential outcomes.
What test must the defendant meet
The public body test
What is the public body test
Bodies performing public duties, like government departments, local authorities, and even private bodies with public-like functions, can be subject to judicial review. For instance, a private panel overseeing the stock exchange was considered public enough to be reviewed because its decisions affected people’s rights and could be enforced by other government bodies.
What case affirms the public body test
R v Panel of Takeovers and Mergers
What is illegality in JR?
Illegality – this is where a public body: o acts outside of its powers
the public body must understand and give effect to the law governing the action in question
What is irrationality in JR?
A decision can be overturned on the ground of irrationality if it is so unreasonable that no reasonable person, acting reasonably, could have made it.
What is proportionality in JR?
Proportionality in judicial review (JR) means that the court evaluates whether a government action or decision is proportionate to the aim it seeks to achieve. This involves considering whether the action is necessary to achieve the government’s objective and whether its impact on individuals’ rights is proportionate to that objective.
What case did Lord Diplock say an irrational decision would be “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.”
Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service
What is judicial review concerned with that differs it from an appeal?
It is concerned with the manner in which a decision was taken, this is seen as proper as the court is an expert at law.
What is are some benefits of judicial review.
protecting and respecting the human rights of the people the decision will affect, and all of us, by getting the processes as right as possible in the first place.
What are some disadvantages of judicial review.
Judicial review can sometimes be slow and costly, leading to delays in resolving legal disputes and increasing the burden on the judicial system.
