Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission
[1969] 2 AC 147
Ratio Decidendi
An ouster clause purporting to exclude judicial review of a statutory body's decisions cannot protect a decision that is a nullity due to error of law. Any error of law renders the decision ultra vires.
Facts
Anisminic's property in Egypt was sequestrated. The FCC rejected their compensation claim based on an erroneous interpretation of the governing order. The statute contained an ouster clause stating that FCC determinations 'shall not be called in question in any court of law'.
Judgment Summary
The House of Lords held that the ouster clause did not protect the FCC's determination because it contained an error of law which rendered it a nullity, not a 'determination' within the meaning of the statute.
Key Quotes
"If a tribunal has made an error of law which causes it to reach a wrong decision, it makes a determination which is a nullity."
— Lord Reid
Subsequent Treatment
Foundation of modern judicial review; established that all errors of law are jurisdictional.