Natural Justice

Natural justice is the common law's set of minimum procedural fairness standards, developed by the courts over centuries and still central to public law today. Its two limbs are the right to a fair hearing and the rule against bias — together they require decision-makers to give a person affected by a decision a genuine opportunity to put their case, and to be, and be seen to be, impartial. Although the label 'natural justice' has older roots in the prerogative writs, the modern courts have continued to expand its reach.

In the leading GCHQ case, considered in a judiciary.uk lecture by Lord Justice Laws, Lord Scarman explained how the courts have gone beyond the historic scope of the prerogative orders in applying these standards: the requirement of natural justice, meaning the duty to act fairly, has been extended so that it applies even to a purely administrative act, not just to judicial or quasi-judicial decisions. The same case records Lord Denning's formulation that where a public body 'has acted unfairly, then the courts can review their proceedings so as to ensure, as far as may be, that justice is done.' Breach of natural justice remains one of the recognised grounds on which a decision of a public body can be challenged by judicial review.