Judicial review of administrative action

Natural justice The common law requirements (often incorporated into statute) of procedural fairness, which includes the right to a fair hearing before an impartial court Proportionality The requirement that the action taken be no more than required to achieve the objective Public law Law that relates to all in society, as compared with private law, which regulates the relationship between two or more people (for example a contract, or marriage) Sufficient interest The term denoting a person who has a legitimate interest in the matter challenged and is deemed to have ‘standing’ to apply for judicial review Ultra vires Outside the scope of power granted Judicial review lies at the heart of administrative law. It is a procedure that is designed to test and ensure the legality of acts of those public bodies – ministers of the Crown, local authorities, National Health Service Trusts, universities, and so on – on which Parliament has conferred powers. The requirement that public bodies act according to law involves a number of • whether the public body has correctly interpreted its powers granted by statute or common law; • whether any discretion conferred by statute has been lawfully exercised; • whether the decision-maker has complied with the requirements of natural justice (or fairness); • whether the decision-maker has violated a person’s human rights as protected under the Human Rights Act 1998; • whether the decision-maker has acted in a manner proportionate to the objective.