Blog
R(Gallaher) v Competition and Markets Authority and the Search for the Principle of Equal Treatment
Fred Allen
2 November 2015
Judicial review reform: False assumptions replaced by objective research
Contrary to the Government’s repeated claims, judicial review offers value for money and assists in ensuring clarity and development of the law. Research published on 16 October by the Public Law Project, University of Essex and LSE illustrates that negative assumptions justifying the Government reform of judicial review are simply not borne out by the evidence. The report concludes that such claims are “at best misleading and at worst false”.
10 August 2015
'Reform' of judicial review – The bandwagon trundles on
The Government has opened the latest in its series of consultations on proposals for the 'reform' of judicial review. The current consultation arises out of changes to judicial review procedure already introduced by Part 4 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (CJCA). Those changes concern the financial information that all claimants starting judicial review proceedings will have to supply to the Court. They also concern the financial information that any claimant seeking a cost capping order will have to supply to the Court and to the other parties. Unsurprisingly – this has been the leitmotif of the whole “reform” process – there is a striking lack of evidence to justify the proposals, allied to an apparent blindness to what currently happens in practice and to the powers currently available to the courts.
7 July 2015
Judicial review and suitable alternative remedies
It is commonplace to say judicial review is a remedy of last resort and in particular that if there is an adequate alternative remedy that is or was available to a claimant, permission to bring proceedings will normally be refused.
6 July 2015
The end of the duty of candour double standard?
When things go wrong in healthcare, should the duty of candour owed by providers to patients differ depending on whether the care was provided within a primary or secondary setting? Or whether the patient received care from the public or private sector? A single duty of candour should apply consistently across the healthcare service. Unfortunately, the duty of candour is currently triggered by two different thresholds depending upon who provides care to the patient.
29 October 2014
At last some hope: defeat in the House of Lords of Judicial Review Proposals
Studies may have found Tuesday to be the most depressing day of the week, but this Tuesday, many legal practitioners received a small mercy for which to be grateful. The news was in that the previous evening’s Report Stage consideration of Part 4 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill had taken place, and the government had experienced heavy defeats in several important votes on proposals to restrict access to judicial review.