Judicial review is a public law action against a public authority or person/s whose actions are of a public nature.

Examples of potential defendants to a judicial review claim include:

• Social services
• Courts and tribunals
• Health service providers and commissioners
• Central government departments and agencies
• Local government

It is based upon a failure of the public authority to do what they should do properly. There are a number of discreet heads of claim which can be advanced and the courts have dealt with cases very flexibly in terms of remedies available.

Expedition is of the essence in judicial review matters. Actions must be brought "as soon as possible" and in any case within 3 months of the action or omission complained of. If you think you have a potential judicial review case, you should consult a solicitor as soon as possible as failure to do so will quickly result in being time-barred. It is sometimes possible to "resuscitate" potential judicial review claims which are now out-of-time but this requires expert handling.

Examples of the potential heads of challenge are:

• Acting not in accordance with the law
• Acting unfairly
• Using the wrong or discriminatory procedures
• Acting unreasonably
• Acting irrationally
• Failure to properly justify a decision
• Failure to consult properly

In addition, Human Rights Act 1998 points can be made in judicial review proceedings (please see the "Human Rights" tab).

We have extensive experience of bringing judicial review claims (see the "Our Firm" tab for details of recent judicial review cases brought to court).

Please contact us for further information.