Reform To Judicial Review

Judicial review is the procedure by which decisions of public law bodies and those of other bodies carrying out public law functions may be challenged through the English Court.

With the growth of regulation, these decisions have increased in importance as has the use of the judicial review procedure to effect a challenge. In addition judicial review can sometimes be the only way of making a challenge to legislation emanating from the EU with a realistic prospect of success. Often the decisions in question are of major effect and in some cases business critical.

The grounds for challenge of decisions can very briefly be categorised as follows:-

• Irrationality – the decision was one that no reasonable authority would have come to ( the well-known Wednesbury test);