header-logo header-logo

NLJ this week: Worrying developments on judicial review ousters

04 August 2023
Issue: 8036 / Categories: Legal News , Judicial review , Procedure & practice , Constitutional law
printer mail-detail
132786
The government succeeded in blocking a potential judicial review, in a recent case on ouster clauses (Oceana). How concerned should we be about this development?

Writing in this week’s NLJ, Nick Wrightson, partner at Kingsley Napley, notes that the decision itself is narrow enough so as not to ‘significantly imperil the rule of law’. Looking ahead, however, he warns there may be trouble to come.

He writes: ‘The real concern… is that Oceana is proof of concept for a particular form of ouster clause, and the government is already identifying other opportunities to exclude judicial review using this “template”': for example, the Illegal Migration Act 2023, which contains ouster clauses very similar to the one considered in Oceana.

Read more from Wrightson on ouster clauses here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll