London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Right to challenge government in courts overhauled

Right to challenge government in courts overhauled

Plans to change how government decisions are challenged in the courts have been announced by the justice secretary.

Robert Buckland says the move is to "protect" judges from being drawn in to politics and to "strike the right balance" between public scrutiny and the "need for effective government".

It comes after an independent review into the issue.

Labour says it is an attempt to "trample on values we all hold dear".

Last year, the prime minister ordered a review into the relationship between the government and the courts.

The review, headed by the Conservative peer, Lord Faulks, found "courts were increasingly considering the merits of government decisions themselves, instead of how those decisions were made - moving beyond the remit of judicial review".

Judicial review is a procedure that allows anyone who has been affected by a decision or a failure to act by a public authority to apply to the courts to rule whether its actions were lawful or not.

Recently, there have been high profile challenges to the government's management of the Brexit process by the Remain campaigner, Gina Miller.

Addressing MPs, Mr Buckland said while judicial review was an "important" and "vital" check on power, reforming the process would "protect" judges from being dragged into issues beyond their remit.

Mr Buckland said ministers were considering putting a set of rules in place that would "clearly delineate" which issues the courts could rule on and which they could not.

He said the reforms would "restore a more sensible balance of responsibilities between Parliament and the courts".


Judicial review helps the public hold power to account because it allows any of us to ask a judge to scrutinise a decision by a minister or public body, where we have an arguable case that they've acted unlawfully.

Recent cases have led to improvements in NHS critical care guidelines during the pandemic - and the Supreme Court declaring that Boris Johnson unlawfully shut down Parliament.

His 2019 election manifesto promised to curtail judicial review to prevent judges taking political decisions.

Critics say JR currently allows judges to retake political decisions about how a policy should operate.

But the government's own review panel found some of the most controversial cases have only come about because the courts had to step in to clarify the law, after Parliament had failed to do so.

Gina Miller, who brought one of the two cases against Parliament's shutdown said the public had to ask themselves whether they felt comfortable placing all their trust in politicians, or whether they preferred independent courts to continue to act as a defence against potential abuses by the executive.

The shadow justice secretary, David Lammy, accused the government of trying to impose "new limits" on judicial reviews.

He said it was an attempt to "trample on values we all hold dear - including fairness, accountability and the rule of law".

"Judicial review is the only mechanism by which members of the public can challenge the government and public bodies when they break the law," he added.

What are judicial reviews?


A type of court case that allows members of the public to challenge the legality of a government decision.

* It can be a decision by a government department, a regulator, a local council and certain other public bodies

* Judicial reviews cannot overturn entire Acts of Parliament passed by MPs

* Decisions can be challenged on the grounds that a minister did not have the power to make it, or the process leading up to it was unfair or irrational

* A decision can also be overturned if a public authority has acted in a way which is incompatible with the Human Rights Act

* Most cases do not get very far - in 2018 only 218 made it as far as a court hearing, out of 3,597 that were lodged

* Of the cases that reached court, the government won 50% of them

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×