THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT JUDICIAL REVIEW COURT 2024: TIME LIMITS AND PROCEDURAL RIGOUR
The latest Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide is now available and can be found here.
It is dated October 2014 but was published yesterday – well ahead of time. I am simply highlighting two aspects of the Guide.
” this does not mean that the Court will overlook or tolerate breaches of directions made by the Court or of obligations imposed by the CPR or Practice Directions or by this Guide. The appellate courts have emphasised the need for procedural rigour in judicial review”
TIME LIMITS
1.6 Calculating time limits
1.6.1.Unless the period specified is 5 days or less, references to days in the
CPR, Practice Directions or this Guide are to clear, calendar days, which
include weekends and bank holidays.10
1.6.2 The date of service of a document is not the date when the document
is actually received. Where service is by post, the date of service is the
second working day after the day that the document was sent.
2. Procedural Rigour
2.1The need to observe the rules
2.1.1 Judicial review proceedings are different from private law proceedings
because the interests in play are typically not just those of the
parties to the litigation. Depending on the context, the proceedings
may affect third parties. It may also be necessary to consider the
public interest.
2.1.2 However, this does not mean that the Court will overlook or tolerate
breaches of directions made by the Court or of obligations imposed by
the CPR or Practice Directions or by this Guide. The appellate courts
have emphasised the need for procedural rigour in judicial review.
2.1.3 The importance of procedural rigour is reflected in a number of
sections of this Guide. It applies to claims with a public interest
element with as much force as to other claims and as much to
defendant public authorities as to claimants In particular, attention is
drawn to the need for legal professionals and litigants in person:
2.1.3.to consider carefully who are the proper parties to any
claim (see para 3.2 of this Guide);
2.1.3.2to comply rigorously with the duty of candour, at all
times, but especially when making applications for urgent
consideration (see para 17.3.3 of this Guide);
2.1.3.3to ensure that applications are made at the earliest stage
possible and not left to the last minute (for example, see
para 13.7 for applications to extend time; para 23.2 for
applications to adduce expert evidence)