Judicial review is a High Court procedure for challenging administrative actions. Judicial review allows individuals, businesses, and other groups to challenge the lawfulness of decisions made by Ministers, Government Departments, local authorities and other public bodies.

The main grounds of review are that the decision maker has acted outside the scope of its statutory powers, that the decision was made using an unfair procedure, or that the decision was an unreasonable one. The Human Rights Act 1998 created an additional ground, making it unlawful for public bodies to act in a way incompatible with rights of individuals under the European Convention of Human Rights.

Judicial review must be used where you are seeking:

A mandatory order (i.e. an order requiring the public body to do something and formerly known as an order of mandamus);
A prohibiting order (i.e. an order preventing the public body from doing something and formerly known as an order of prohibition); or
A quashing order (i.e. an order quashing the public body’s decision and formerly known as an order of certiorari);
A declaration that a decision is incompatible with Human Rights Act

Claims will generally be heard by a single Judge sitting in open court the Administration Court at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. They may be heard by a Divisional Court (a court of two judges) where the Court so directs.

Judicial review is not concerned with the ‘merits’ of a decision or whether the public body has made the ‘right’ decision. The only question before the court is whether the public body has acted unlawfully. In particular, it is not the task of the courts to substitute its
judgement for that of the decision maker. The courts would traditionally only intervene where a public body had used a power for a purpose not allowed by the legislation or in circumstances where when using its powers, the body has acted in a manner that was obviously unreasonable or irrational.

Judicial review is a particularly effective avenue for young people in care who wish to challenge a decision that has been taken by a Local Authority which impacts on their placement or the provision of necessary services.