Judicial review reform – Government consultation ClientEarth submission

Judicial review is vital tool that enables people to take government and public authorities to court to hold them accountable for the lawfulness of their decisions and actions. However, the UK government is currently considering changes to this process that would reduce that accountability.

Amongst other things, government’s proposals would:

• make some of those decisions and actions unchallengeable; and
• mean that, in some cases, no remedy would be available to correct the situation even when government has acted unlawfully.

In suggesting these changes, government has mischaracterised and ignored the findings of its specially appointed independent expert panel. Government is ploughing ahead with the changes it wants to make in spite of the experts’ cautions and warnings.

In our response to the government’s consultation, we assess the government’s proposed changes setting out our concerns (including about compatibility of proposals with existing international law obligations) as well as indicating those changes we would welcome.