JR

• What are the procedural requirements for JR?

  1. Permission to JR
  2. Standing
  3. Procedural Exclusivity
  4. Time Limit
  5. Any ouster clauses?
  6. Exhaustion of Remedies
• What is the meaning of Permission to JR?

  = who can you bring a claim against
• What test in R V Panel of Takeovers & Mergers is used to determine if the claimant has permission?

  The 'Public Function Test': where the body against which the action is brought must be exercising “public functions” i.e. is it a public body or is it exercising public functions
• What is the meaning of Standing?

  = who can bring a claim for JR as issue affects them
• What does Section 31(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 state about the requirement for Standing?

  Section 31(3) Senior Courts Act 1981: ‘No application for judicial review shall be made...unless it considers that the applicant has a sufficient interest in the matter to which the application relates’
• What is the L.P of IRC V National Federation of the Self-employed & Small Businesses Ltd? (where claimants representing taxpayers challenged IRC's offer of a tax amnesty for casual newspaper workers)

  L.P: for claimants to be granted JR, there must (1) be some logical connection between the claim and the claimant, (2) there must be a prima facie case where pre-trial evidence was reviewed by a judge & (3) the court will exclude busybodies and mischief-makers to make sure that courts don’t waste their time
• In IRC V National Federation of the Self-employed & Small Businesses Ltd, how did Lord Diplock establish the two-stage process for conventional standing?

  1. The 'permission' stage is where the courts will check whether the applicant has prima facie case and look at the applicant's relationship to it.
  2. If “sufficient interest” is not obvious (e.g. in case of public-spirited individuals), then it will be considered at the hearing stage when looking at the merits of the case
• What is the first stage of the Sufficient Interest test?

  The first stage of the test to be applied on application for leave will exclude persons with “no interest whatsoever” who are “in truth, no more than a meddlesome busybody”:
• What is the second stage of the Sufficient Interest test?

  
  

  The second stage of the test is to be applied at full hearing as “primarily as one of discretion”, and relevant factors include

  • the nature of the applicant
  • the extent of the applicant’s interest in the issue
  • the remedy sought by the applicant
• What is the effect of the second part of the Sufficient Interest Test?

  Decision opens the door for non-governmental organisations acting in good faith and with the relevant experience and expertise to bring proceedings where there is no other suitable applicant
• What is the other requirement for the Sufficient Interest test?

  The two-stage test has to be applied on a case-by-case basis
• What is the meaning of Conventional Standing?

  Where one claimant is directly affected
• What is the L.P of R V HM Inspectorate of Pollution ex parte Greenpeace? (where Greenpeace won the argument that they had standing as they represented parties who would be directly affected by the disposing of nuclear waste?

  L.P: Associate Standing can be accepted, where a group brings a claim on behalf of its membership or individual(s) who were directly affected
• What is the L.P of R V Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs ex parte World Development Movement?(where WDM won a claim of standing to challenge decision to provide funding for the Pergau Dam project even though they did not represent people in the UK)

  L.P: Claimants can argue for Public Interest Standing, where standing is granted if the issues are serious, there is an absence of another challenger and the group claiming to have standing has expert character
• What is the L.P of O'Reilly V Macman for Procedural exclusivity?

  L.P: the review of public law decisions must be brought only through JR in the Administrative Court using the procedure in Civil Proceeding Rules 54

  L.P: Only public law matters can be JR'ed
• What rules did Parliament establish for Time limits under CPA Rule 54.5?

  • (1) The claim form must be filed –

  (a) promptly; and

  (b) in any event not later than 3 months after the grounds when the claim first arose.
• What are Ouster clauses?

  Are sections of statutes which state that decisions by public bodies cannot be reviewed by the courts (can be used by Parliament to restrict the availability of JR)
• What is the L.P of Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Committee? (where the Foreign Compensation Commission had misinterpreted certain subsidiary legislation as Parliament could not have intended for the ouster clause to protect an ultra vires determination of defeating claims of foreign compensation)

  L.P: Ouster clauses are not effective against any error of law

  L.P: An ouster clause does not oust the courts' jurisdiction in JR unless it clearly states so
• What is the requirements for Remedies?

  • The claimant must exhaust all alternative remedies
  • Claimant must obtain ‘leave’ from the court to bring a case (Permission)
  • The court will refuse to consider a claim if it is likely that the outcome of the case would not be substantially different (would waste resources)
• What types of discretionary remedies can be awarded in private law?

  • Quashing Orders
  • Mandatory & Prohibiting Orders
  • Injunctions
  • Declarations
  • Damages
• What are the Substantive Grounds for JR after establishing the JR process?

  1. Illegality
  2. Unreasonableness/irrationality
  3. Procedural Impropriety
• What is the meaning of Procedural Exclusivity?

  (i) The exclusivity principle applies where the claimant is challenging a public law decision or action and (a) his claim affects the public generally or (b) justice requires for some other reason that the claimant should proceed by way of judicial review.