Judicial Review Solicitors

Specialists in Judicial Reviews

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Our expert Judicial Review Solicitors can assist you with challenging public authorities’ decisions and unlawful procedures. This may be decisions from the Ministry of Justice, NHS Trusts, Social Services, or Local Authorities.

The public authority must follow its human right duties and public sector equality duties when making decisions. The decision that they made must be lawful and fair. A judicial review questions the decision-making process rather than the outcome. It is not an appeal court and cannot be used in circumstances where people are unhappy with a decision.

If you would like to make a claim for a judicial review you must do so within three months of the decision being made. You must also get permission from the High Court. Before making a claim, you must get legal advice.

We are able to challenge decisions of His Majesty Prison and Probation Service and also organisations delegated to offer a public service like Serco, G4S and other Ministry of Justice contractors.

It’s important to act quickly when making a claim. Our expert judicial review solicitors will advise you through the process and fight for your rights. Contact us on 01865 592670 or email Dary Makoona at d.makoona@reeds.co.uk.

What Is a Judicial Review?

A judicial review is a court proceeding whereby a judge will review the lawfulness of a decision made by a public authority. It does not focus on the result, but rather whether the process to reach the decision was lawful and correct.

Judges will not decide whether the decision being challenged was right or wrong as they have no jurisdiction and expertise over these matters. Instead, judges only consider whether the decision being challenged was unlawful, irrational, unfair, procedurally improper and incompatible with the human rights.

For example, if the Parole Board decided not to release a prisoner, the latter would not be able to apply for a judicial review challenging the risk assessment of the Parole Board that led to the refusal to direct release. However, if some documents were not submitted to all parties and only the Parole Board had sight of them, then a possible ground would be to challenge on the basis of procedural impropriety.

If the judicial review is successful, the most common outcome is for the court might to quash the decision so that it has no legal effect. The court will never change the decision of a public body as this is outside their jurisdiction and expertise.

When Can You Get a Judicial Review?

Before starting Judicial Review procedure, you should have exhausted all internal avenues of complaint first. Therefore, a prisoner should first complete the prison complaint procedure which is putting in a COMP1 and COMP1/A form.

If the prison complaint process does not resolve the issue, then the case should be escalated to the Prison and Probation Ombudsman. It is only when all these avenues of complaint have been exhausted, and you feel that the decision is unlawful that you can start the process for Judicial Review.

Once a judicial review case has commenced, it is possible to apply for an injunction which stops the public body from acting on the decision under challenge while the judicial review case is ongoing. Injunctions can be made quite quickly, and urgent cases can be prioritised by the court. However, for non-urgent cases, there could be some delays before it gets to a hearing specially if heard in London.

Our expert judicial review solicitors will advise you through the process and fight for your rights. Contact us on 01865 592670 or email Dary Makoona at d.makoona@reeds.co.uk.

Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions

Nicola Maynard - Reeds Solicitors
Nicola Maynard

Partner, Solicitor & Head of Prison Law

Dary Makoona - Reeds Solicitors
Dary Makoona

Senior Associate Solicitor

Meet the team

Judicial Review Procedure

If you think that the decision of the public body is unlawful, and you should act very promptly and if well within the three months’ time limit, you could write a letter to the public body setting out your reasons why you think the decision is unlawful.

You should state your intention to apply for judicial review. If they do not confirm they will take the action, usually at the end of 14 days. This is known as the pre-action protocol letter which is a crucial document because if well drafted by a specialist lawyer, it could lead to the resolution of a dispute without the need for judicial review proceedings to be started.

If there is no satisfactory response to the above letter, the next step is to make an application for permission to apply for judicial review. Your solicitor will start preparing the court papers, corresponding with the other side and with the court, and instructing a barrister, on your behalf.

Proceedings are issued in the Administrative Court offices in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds or Manchester.

The defendant public body usually have 21 days from when they receive the claim documents from you to file an acknowledgment of service and set out grounds if they are going to argue the case. All of the papers are then put before a judge who decides whether to grant permission to proceed to a full hearing.

If permission is refused, you have seven days to request that the decision be reconsidered at an oral hearing, unless the case has been certified as totally without merit, in which case the claim cannot proceed further.

If permission to apply for judicial review is granted, your case will go to a final hearing. Usually within 35 days of the decision to grant permission the defendant must file and serve its detailed grounds of resistance, setting out in more detail the basis on which it is defending the claim. That must include any written evidence it wants to rely on.

The case is then set down for hearing before a judge in the Administrative Court. The time estimate for the hearing will normally be agreed by the lawyers for all the parties. The full hearing is very formal involving lawyers making arguments about the lawfulness of the decision, act or failure to act which you have challenged.

It is very unlikely you will have to give oral evidence or even attend the hearing. At the end of the hearing or within a few weeks, the judge will pronounce the judgment.

Once judgment is given then both sides can make representations about who should pay the costs of the proceedings. The loser would normally be ordered to pay the winner’s costs.

Although a detailed and complex mechanism. the beauty of judicial review is that if successful it might make the public body change their policy or regulation which would not only impact on the claimant but also of many others after him. For example, a prisoner who is successful at a judicial review might prompt the Ministry of Justice to change their policy as a result.

Our expert judicial review solicitors will advise you through the process and fight for your rights. Contact us on 01865 592670 or email Dary Makoona at d.makoona@reeds.co.uk.

Judicial review cases must be brought before the court promptly, and in any event within three months of the decision or action being challenged. For some cases “promptly” could mean that three months was too long. Therefore, the three months’ time limit should not be viewed as a deadline, but all claims should be started as soon as possible. Therefore, if you think you may have a case for judicial review, you should seek specialist advice immediately.

 

Currently at Reeds, we are undertaking judicial reviews for prisoners’ rights, and the service is offered on a private paying basis. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer the service under Legal Aid at this time. The fees would vary depending on the complexity of the case but will be completely fair and transparent.

Our expert judicial review solicitors will advise you through the process and fight for your rights. Contact us on 01865 592670 or email Dary Makoona at d.makoona@reeds.co.uk.

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FAQ

There are three reasons, known as grounds, for a judicial review. These are:

  • The public authority misused their power or considered irrelevant factors, this can happen when they restrict themselves to strict policies.
  • The decision was unreasonable
  • The public authority did not follow fair procedures

You can also ask for a judicial review if the lawfulness is questionable or the decision breaches your human rights.

If your case is successful, the judge may nullify the original decision. If this happens, the process begins again with proper procedures. If the public authority reach the same decision once more following the correct procedure, it will become a lawful decision.

The public authorities have a duty to consider how their policies and decisions affect people under the Equality Act. When they make a decision, the public authorities must take into account this duty. If they don’t, you may be able to make a claim for a judicial review.

Public authorities must abide by your human rights when making a decision. You are still protected under the Human Rights Act if you are detained in hospital or in prison and you live in the UK. If it is found that the public authorities have breached your rights, the decision may be overturned.

Knowing whether you have a claim can be complicated. Generally, the public authority’s decision cannot be challenged via a judicial review if there is an alternative appeal route.

It is in your best interest to get in contact with a mental heath solicitor as soon as possible. The process can be complicated and there is often time pressure. A mental health solicitor will provide you with the best possible chance to get a favourable outcome within the aforementioned constraints.

You can apply for a Judicial Review if you are subject to the Mental Health Act. Either as a sectioned patient or if you are living in the community under restrictions. The Tribunal has the authority to discharge patients if they deem it necessary.

The time a judicial review takes is largely dependent on the complexity of your case. It may take anywhere from a couple of weeks to months.

A judicial review may be unsuccessful if the judge determines that the original decision was made reasonably. However, you may be able to ask permission to appeal the judge’s decision at the Court of Appeal.