Process of Judicial Review

Question 1

Judicial Review in Outline:

Answer 1

Reinforces the canon that everyone is equal before the law, including public bodies and officials.

Decisions of lower courts, in particular Magistrates’ Courts, can be challenged under judicial review.

JR is carried out by the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court.

Question 2

Principles of JR: Illegality

Answer 2

The decision by the public body has included a mistake of law or has gone beyond that which the law allows the public body to operate.

Question 3

Principles of JR: Irrationality

Answer 3

The decision by the public body is so unreasonable that no reasonable public body would have made such a decision.

Question 4

Principles of JR: Irregularity

Answer 4

The decision by the public body has not followed the correct procedure.

Question 5

Remedies: Prohibition

Answer 5

Prevents or prohibits the public authority from continuing with the decision or from doing the same act in the future.

Question 6

Remedies: Certiorari

Answer 6

Allows the High Court to quash a decision made by the public body.

Question 7

Remedies: Mandamus

Answer 7

Forces a public body to do something, for example to hear a case or argument that it has refused to hear.

Question 8

Case: Associated Provincial Picture Houses v Wednesbury Corporation:

Answer 8

Established the ‘Wednesbury’ unreasonableness test. Applied against a decision made by a public body under Judicial Review, A decision will be deemed unreasonable, and struck out, if it was so unreasonable that no reasonable public body could have reached the same decision.

Question 9

Case: Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service:

Answer 9

Known as the GCHQ case, this set out and summarised the three challenges or principles for judicial review.