Role of Judicial Review in UK Constitution - Desklib

Running head: ROLE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW
Role of Judicial Review
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Author Note

1ROLE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW
Part A:
Answer 1:
The process of judicial review can be defined as the process of court proceedings where
the legitimacy of a previous decision given by a public body is reviewed by a judge of higher
court of justice. The procedure of judicial review is applicable in cases where the previous
decision taken by the public authority proves to be unlawful.
In this regard the seven steps involved in the process of judicial review can be emphasized.
1. The process of judicial review is associated with the process of reviewing a decision that
has been previously made by a public body in order to audit the legality of such decision.
2. In this regard, it is noteworthy to mention here that the authorities exercising the
functions of public law can be challenged. Therefore, it is worth noting that there is a thin
boundary between the public bodies and the private authorities as the decisions of the
public bodies are subjected to judicial review while the decisions made by the private
sectors are not subjected to judicial review in general.
3. In order to bring a claim for proceedings of judicial review it is important on the part of
the parties involved to have sufficient interest in the matter.1 However, in recent years the
question involving sufficient interests has not been defined by the Courts. As a result of
liberalization, the Courts were unwilling to dismiss an application on the ground of lack
of standing. In this regard, pressure groups shall be treated as sufficient standing.
Currently, reforms regarding the test of standing are initiated by the Government.
1 Ip, Eric C. "The judicial review of legislation in the United Kingdom: a public choice analysis." European Journal
of Law and Economics 37.2 (2014): 221-247

2ROLE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW
4. In order to administer claim for judicial review, an application has to be made within
three months from the date when the issue had at first taken place.2 However, in recent
years such remedy has been reduced to six weeks for the purpose of planning decisions. It
has been expected that judicial review shall be treated as the remedy of last resort in cases
where parties fail to apply alternative methods of dispute resolution.
5. The grounds of judicial review are-
 Illegality, which takes place when the public authority makes the law outside its powers.
 Irrationality, when the public body passes an unreasonable decision.
 Improper procedures, when the public authority fails to make decision according to the
statutory procedures.
 Breach of legitimate expectation, it occurs when the public authority is required to act in
a particular way however, it fails to act according to the prescribed manner.
6. In case of judicial review, the question involving remedies is often difficult to examine.
The discretionary remedies available are-
 Quashing order.
 Prohibitory order.
 Mandatory order.
 Declaration.
 Injunction
 Damages.
7. It is noteworthy to mention here that judicial review has been affirmed as a remedy of last
resort. In Glencore Energy UK Limited v Commissioners of HMRC[2017] EWHC
2 MacKinnon, Danny. "Devolution, state restructuring and policy divergence in the UK." The Geographical
Journal 181.1 (2015): 47-56

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14763 it was held by the Administrative Court that the principle of judicial review is a
remedy of last resort. It was held by the Court that judicial review shall be held as the
remedy of last resort in cases where the methods of alternative dispute resolution fail to
address the issues.
Answer 2:
It is evident that the constitutional system of Britain is based on the principle of
parliamentary sovereignty. According to A.V. Dicey, the decision passed by the Parliament
cannot be challenged by the Court of law. Dicey stated that the Parliament is at the authority to
make legislative amendments. The British courts are not vested with the power of declaring a
parliamentary statute to be unconstitutional by setting it aside. The British constitution can
review a decision taken by any executive or administrative body however, it cannot consider any
constitutional authority of the Parliament to be null and void. Therefore, the process of judicial
review can be rightly applied to decisions taken by the executive or the judicial however such
process cannot be applied to the decision passed by the Parliament.
The rule of law occupies an integral position in the constitutional system of UK which is
unwritten. The principle of rule of law has been applied to all conduct covering the officials of
public bodies.4 The rule of law states that no one is above the law, everyone is equal before the
eyes of law, the laws have always been applied and legal reprisal is available through the courts.
On the other hand, a claim for judicial review signifies a special quality which makes it distinct
from other methods of litigation. In this regard, it is noteworthy to mention here that the
3 HMRC[2017] EWHC 1476
4 Hadfield, Gillian K., and Barry R. Weingast. "Microfoundations of the Rule of Law." Annual Review of Political
Science 17 (2014): 21-42