Judicial Review of Government Action

Administrative law is about the legal rules and institutions aimed at keeping the ‘governors’ (principally, decision-makers in the executive arm of government) ‘accountable’. For this reason administrative law is at the coal-face of the legal relationship between the governors and the governed. Judicial review is an important aspect of administrative law which focuses on the relationship between the courts and the executive arm of government. This course will cover most of the significant legal principles that arise in judicial review applications, though not all comprehensively. We will identify and consider important current trends and problems in the law of judicial review. Topics to be covered include: - The Scope of Judicial review (i.e. judicial review jurisdiction) - Judicial review remedies - The legality/merits distinction and jurisdiction error - Jurisdictional facts and rationality review - Excluding procedural fairness obligations - The content of procedural fairness (and national security) - Relevant considerations - Unreasonableness and Reasons - Judicial review of rule-making - Statutory Attempts to Restrict Judicial Review - Standing - The Impact of Judicial Review To develop their knowledge and skills, students will engage in a range of learning activities, including intensive seminars, lectures, tutorials and research work.