Eligibility Checklist for Judicial Review
Check whether your case meets the threshold conditions to apply for judicial review in the Administrative Court.
Overview
Judicial review is the supervisory jurisdiction of the Administrative Court (part of the King's Bench Division of the High Court). It allows challenges to decisions, actions, and omissions by public bodies on the grounds of illegality, irrationality, or procedural unfairness. It is not an appeal on the merits — the court does not substitute its own decision. The threshold conditions are set out in CPR Part 54 and by decades of case law.
Nature of the Defendant
The decision was made by a public body or a body exercising a public function (government departments, local authorities, NHS bodies, regulators, courts, tribunals)(Essential)
Private bodies are not amenable to judicial review unless they exercise a public function (R v Panel on Take-overs, ex p Datafin [1987])
Standing
You have 'sufficient interest' (standing) — you are directly affected by the decision challenged(Essential)
Pressure groups and NGOs can have standing if they represent affected interests (R v Secretary of State, ex p Greenpeace [1994])
Exhaustion of Remedies
You have exhausted all other available remedies — internal appeals, statutory appeals, ombudsman routes, tribunal routes — before applying for judicial review(Essential)
The court will ordinarily refuse permission if an adequate alternative remedy exists
Time Limits
Your claim is filed promptly and in any event within 3 months of the decision (CPR r.54.5)(Essential)
Planning cases: 6 weeks; procurement: 30 days; public contracts: stricter limits. The court can refuse permission for delay even within 3 months
You have sent a pre-action protocol letter before filing the claim(Essential)