On Friday 31 July 2020, the Ministry of Justice launched an independent review into administrative law in order to determine whether there is a need for judicial review reform. This follows the government’s commitment to conduct a review of the UK constitution with a particular focus on administrative law and the relationship between the government and courts.
The independent panel will be chaired by Lord Edward Faulks QC and will comprise five other legal practitioners and academics.
Together, the panel will consider whether the current balance between citizen’s rights to challenge executive decisions and the government’s ability to govern the country effectively and efficiently is appropriate, or whether reform is needed. To do so, the panel will consider four broad topics –
- whether amenability to judicial review and the grounds on which it is available should be codified in statute rather than being left to develop as part of the common law;
- whether certain executive decisions should protected from judicial review challenges;
- which grounds and remedies should be available in claims brought against the government; and
- whether any further procedural reforms to judicial review are needed, such as timings and the appeal process.
The panel will examine a range of resources when conducting its review, such as relevant case law, evidence and data, as well as looking at the development of judicial review over time and the experience in other common law jurisdictions.
It will report its findings to the Lord Chancellor later this year.
You can contact the Gowling WLG Public Law & Regulation team for more information.
