Week 8

Question 1

4 grounds of review

Answer 1

Illegality
Irrationality/Unreasonableness
Procedural Impropriety
Legitimate Expectation

Question 2

Illegality definition

Answer 2

• the decision- maker must understand correctly the law that regulates his decision-making power and must give effect to it.
• whether the law has been correctly understood and followed is a justiciable question for the courts.

Question 3

Possible Illegality arguments

Answer 3

• Misinterpretation of the relevant legal instrument.
• Failure to perform a legal duty or making a decision when no legal duty exists.
• Exercising discretionary powers for an extraneous or improper purpose.
• Improper delegation of decision-making power.
• Considering irrelevant factors or failing to consider relevant ones.
• Notes that these points are drawn from De Smith’s Judicial Review.

Question 4

Fails to fulfil duty

Answer 4

M v Scottish Ministers [2012]
- Mental Health Act 2003, didn’t follow the statutory duty to act within a certain date

Question 5

Unlawful delegation

Answer 5

Padfield v Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food [1968]
- Set price of milk + differential for transport costs
- South-west region: price too low to cover transport
- Minister had both a duty to fairly consider complaints and some discretionary authority.

Question 6

Unreasonableness definition

Answer 6

a decision so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could have made it - Associated Provincial Picture Houses, Limited v Wednesbury Corporation [1948

Question 7

The unreasonableness test

Answer 7

• Whether the decision was one which a reasonable authority could reach’
• “These unexaggerated criteria give the administrator ample and rightful rein,
  consistently with the constitutional separation of powers.”

Question 8

The state of rationality

Answer 8

Process rationality
* Decision maker must take account of all mandatorily relevant considerations and no irrelevant ones, but is not limited to that + contain no logical error
- Outcome rationality
* Whether even when process of reasoning not materially flawed, outcome is “so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could ever have come to it”

Question 9

When does Legitimate Expectations arise?

Answer 9

• Past Practice; LE arises where a person has … “in the past been permitted by the decision-maker to enjoy [some benefit or advantage] and which he can legitimately expect to be permitted to continue to do until there has been communicated to him some rational ground for withdrawing it
• Assurance or promise:
  …he has received assurance from the decision-maker [that it will] not be withdrawn without giving him first an opportunity of
  advancing reasons for contending that they should not be withdrawn

Question 10

What is procedural fairness

Answer 10

• had the - acted fair
• provide individuals with a fair opportunity to
  influence the outcome of a decision and ensure the
  integrity of decisions