What is judicial review?

Judicial review is the procedure by which courts in England and Wales examine the decisions of government ministers and departments, industry regulators, local authorities and public bodies to ensure that they act lawfully and fairly. In deciding whether a particular body is a 'public body' for the purposes of judicial review, the court considers the functions that it performs and whether those functions have public law consequences.

The court conducts a review of the process by which a public body has reached a decision to assess whether it was validly made. The court’s authority to do this derives from statute, but the principles of judicial review are based on case law which is continually evolving. A court may refuse permission to bring a claim for judicial review if an alternative remedy has not been pursued. Judicial review is a remedy of last resort.

Currently, the grounds for judicial review of a decision made by a public body can be categorised under four heads:

1. •

   illegality

2. •

   irrationality (the so called 'Wednesbury unreasonableness')