Judicial review threat

Lawyers have expressed concerns about government proposals to cut the number of judicial reviews.

Speaking at a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference this week, Prime Minister David Cameron said the rise in number of “hopeless” applications was hindering economic growth.

Last year, 11,200 applications for judicial review were made, compared with just 160 in 1974. Asylum and immigration cases account for about two-thirds of all judicial reviews.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said the government would publish its proposals in more detail shortly, but that they include giving applicants a shorter time after the initial decision in which to apply for judicial review, and “stopping people from using tactical delays”; halving the number of opportunities to challenge refusal of permission, from four to two; and “reforming” the fees so that they cover the cost of proceedings.

However, the Coalition for Access to Justice for the Environment (CAJE) condemned the proposals and warned they could “endanger compliance with EU law”.

It said there were “very few” challenges to “major infrastructure projects”—in 2007, only 20 applications were made in environmental matters.

Carol Day, solicitor at WWF, speaking on behalf of CAJE, says: “These proposals are hastily thought-through and seriously misguided.”

The Public Law Project, a legal charity which uses public law remedies to improve access to justice, said it was “alarmed at the apparent haste” with which the reforms were being promoted, and concerned that the consultation period seemed likely to be short and to coincide with the Christmas period.