In Glencore Energy UK Limited v Revenue & Customs Commissioners [2017] EWCA Civ 1716, the Court of Appeal has emphasised that it is only in the most exceptional circumstances that the Courts will intervene by way of judicial review when there is a statutory appeal process available. Key Points The Court reiterated the basic principle that judicial review … Read more

In R (on the application of Underwritten Warranty Co Ltd (t/a Insurance Backed Guarantee Co)) v FENSA Ltd[2017] EWHC 2308 (Admin) the High Court had to decide whether the decisions of FENSA Ltd, an operator of a self-certification scheme forming an integral part of regulation in the construction industry, were susceptible to judicial review. While decisions … Read more

In R (on the application of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Others) v Secretary of State and others [2017] EWHC 2309 (Admin) NGOs challenged recent Government amendments to the costs-capping regime for environmental disputes. The High Court considered whether allowing the variation of costs caps in environmental disputes would deter meritorious claims and … Read more

In ZAI Corporate Finance Limited v AIM Disciplinary Committee of the London Stock Exchange Plc (and London Stock Exchange Plc, interested party) [2017] EWCA Civ 1294, the Court of Appeal considered whether a disciplinary hearing should be conducted in public or private. Key Points Whether a hearing should be held in public or private depends on … Read more

In R (on the application of Durand Academy Trust) v OFSTED [2017] EWHC 2097 (Admin), the High Court quashed a report of the education regulator (the “Report”) on the basis that its complaints procedures were not fair as they did not permit the claimant school (“the School”) to substantively challenge the conclusions of the Report. Key … Read more

In R (Dean) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [2017] EWHC 1998 (Admin) (Holgate J) the Administrative Court had to consider whether a licence was a statutory instrument governed by public law or a contract subject to ordinary contractual law principles, for the purposes of establishing whether a deed of variation was … Read more

In a recent decision, Glencore Energy UK Limited v Commissioners of HMRC [2017] EWHC 1476 (Admin), the Administrative Court (Green J) held that permission to apply for judicial review should be refused where there are alternative remedies available to a claimant which are in substance adequate and appropriate. Key points The Court emphasised the principle that judicial … Read more

The Court of Appeal in Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy v The Information Commissioner and Alex Henney [2017] EWCA Civ 844 has upheld an Upper Tribunal (“UT“) decision that information about the communications and data component of a Smart Meter Programme (the “Programme“) constitutes “environmental information” for the purposes of regulation 2(1) of the Environmental … Read more