Judicial Review

As the judiciary's own guidance puts it, judicial review 'is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body.' Crucially, judicial review is a challenge to the way a decision was made, not to whether the conclusion reached was right: the court will not substitute what it thinks is the 'correct' decision, and a successful challenge may simply mean the public body is free to reach the same decision again, provided it does so lawfully. Someone who thinks a decision was simply wrong, rather than unlawfully made, may need a different remedy, such as an appeal to a higher court.

The types of decision that can be challenged this way are wide-ranging, and include decisions of local authorities on welfare benefits and special educational needs provision, certain decisions of the immigration authorities and the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, decisions of regulatory bodies, and decisions relating to prisoners' rights.