What is a Judicial Review?
A Judicial Review is not an appeal. It is a review of the steps, the lawfulness and powers used by a public body. This type of court proceeding allows a judge to inspect the decision and the action of a public body.
Simply put, the Judicial Review process is a mechanism for challenging the way in which a decision has been made. Its purpose is more to asses the steps to the final decision, not to assess the rights and wrongs of the conclusion. The decision will remain with the public body, however, the review may lead to a reversal of the original decision or may follow the suggestions the review suggested.
The public body will be able to continue to make decisions and conclusions as long it is correct, within the procedure and it is lawful.
If what you are seeking is to dispute the final decision then a Judicial Review may not be the correct route for you. If this is what you are looking for, then there are alternative options. For example: appealing the decision at a higher court.
All avenues must be exhausted before considering a Judicial Review. This must be prompt and must not take more three months, you must be able to demonstrate you have reviewed all the options before seeking a Judicial Review.
The purpose of the Judicial Review is not to question the conclusion. The court will not exchange or elaborate what it perceives to be the correct decision.
What does a Judicial Review consider?
The Judicial Review will assess whether the Public Body or the public law decisions were made using the correct procedure. This will mean if they considered the information they should have, for example, a report which may have been important. This could be in reverse, if information that was not suitable to be used however this directed the decision, this will be an issue to be reviewed. If a Public Body makes a decision which falls outside the scope of their power, for example, a magistrates judge decides to give a longer sentence than you deserved, the Judicial Review will have to assess this subject to the affected party to exhaust all other avenues.
Examples:
There are numerous examples to help you understand what decisions a judicial review would fall under, such as:
- Regulatory bodies
- Resolutions by the local authority (welfare benefits, special education)
- Immigration & Asylum
- Prisoners rights
If you need to assess what route is best for you. We can arrange a conference for you, where you will be able to seek specialist legal advice.
Our specialist barristers at ShenSmith can help you with your matter. Call us on 0203 627 9580 or email us at [email protected]