CIVIL LITIGATION

In exceptional circumstances, a litigant may be able to establish a proper case for judicial review to challenge the decision of a circuit judge in the county court, on the ground of jurisdictional error or procedural irregularity of such a kind as to constitute a denial of the claimant’s right to a fair hearing.

A distinction may be drawn between a case where the judge simply gets it wrong, even extremely wrong (wrong on the law, or the facts, or both), and a case where the judicial process itself has been “frustrated or corrupted” (this marking the truly exceptional case).

This may include cases where the court embarks upon an inquiry which it lacks power to deal with, or fails altogether to enquire or adjudicate upon a matter which it was its unequivocal duty to address.

It also includes substantial denial of the right to a fair hearing, and may include cases where the lower court has