Locus Standi
Latin: 'place of standing'. The right of a person to bring or take part in legal proceedings. In judicial review, an applicant must show they have a 'sufficient interest' in the matter under section 31(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
The statutory test is set out directly in the section of the Senior Courts Act 1981 that creates the judicial review procedure. It provides that 'No application for judicial review shall be made unless the leave of the High Court has been obtained in accordance with rules of court; and the court shall not grant leave to make such an application unless it considers that the applicant has a sufficient interest in the matter to which the application relates.'
'Sufficient interest' is deliberately open-textured rather than tied to a fixed list of qualifying claimants, which allows the courts to admit both individuals directly affected by a decision and, in appropriate cases, campaigning or representative bodies with a genuine stake in the issue. The requirement operates as a filter at the permission stage of judicial review, before the substantive merits of the challenge are considered.
Related terms
Official sources
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