Judicial Review – can solicitors be punished for simply upholding the law?

From a young age we’re all taught to think about the consequences of our actions, but what if our actions have simply been to follow the letter of the law, and yet still we get punished?

Recently a firm of solicitors who were evicted from their Council owned premises, simply for bringing too many personal injury claims on behalf of clients against the local authority. Eventually the Council decided enough was enough and decided to make life difficult for the solicitors by evicting them. Presumably, the idea was to punish the solicitors and cause them as much disruption as possible. It may also have deterred other law firms from bringing such claims for fear of repercussions.

The law firm brought a claim for Judicial Review claim to challenge the decision, and the case came before the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court. The judge decided that there had not been any ‘rational assessment’ of the tenancy agreement and that the decision to evict had simply been designed to punish the claimant law firm. The judge noted that there was no basis to criticise the firm who had acted for genuine clients with real claims.

The president of the Law Society supported the action taken by the solicitors on the basis an independent legal profession should not be dissuaded from bringing legitimate claims against public bodies.

Challenging Public Bodies

This case demonstrates the importance of Judicial Review as a means of challenging decisions made by public bodies.

However, whilst Judicial Review can be a useful tool in monitoring actions taken by public bodies, there are a number of conditions that must be satisfied before a challenge can be brought, namely;

• The application for Judicial Review must be brought promptly, and in any event within three months of the date when the grievance arose.
• The applicant must have a sufficient interest in the matter to which the application relates.
• The application must be based on some rule of public law.

Judicial Review claims are not concerned with whether the ultimate decision reached by the public body was right or wrong but rather whether the right procedures have been followed and the decision has been made in a lawful way. Possible grounds for reversing a decision taken by a public authority include:

• Illegality
• Irrationality
• Procedural Impropriety

This is a complex area of law and anyone considering Judicial Review should seek legal advice at the outset.

By Maria Kalirai