Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission
[1969] 2 AC 147
Ratio Decidendi
An error of law by a tribunal renders its decision a nullity, and an ouster clause in a statute cannot prevent judicial review of such errors. There is no distinction between jurisdictional and non-jurisdictional errors of law.
Facts
The Foreign Compensation Commission rejected Anisminic's claim for compensation. The relevant statute contained an ouster clause stating that determinations of the Commission 'shall not be called in question in any court of law'.
Judgment Summary
The House of Lords held that the Commission had made an error of law which took it outside its jurisdiction. The purported determination was therefore a nullity, and the ouster clause only protected valid determinations.
Key Quotes
"If a tribunal bases its decision on an error of law, the decision is a nullity and the ouster clause cannot protect it."
— Lord Reid
Subsequent Treatment
Effectively abolished the distinction between jurisdictional and non-jurisdictional errors of law for review purposes.