Withholding costs from those guilty of causing delays and encouraging judges to be more pro-active in case management are among proposals from the Law Reform Commission (LRC).
By Carol Coulter,
Legal Affairs Correspondent
In its consultation paper, published yesterday, the LRC also suggests that a minimum of three senior judges be involved in the administration of the judicial review list, to reduce delays in hearing judicial reviews.
Judicial reviews are the legal mechanism whereby members of the public ask judges to examine the actions of public bodies, including Government ministers. An individual or group can ask a High Court judge for leave to take judicial review proceedings asking whether the minister or public body acted within their rights in carrying out a certain course of action. If he or she establishes that this is a valid question to ask, then the case proceeds to a full judicial review hearing.
There are now two different types of judicial review proceedings, the old "conventional" proceedings, and those governed by recent statutes, covering areas such as planning, immigration law, the allocation of public contracts and company takeovers.
Because there is some duplication in evidence between seeking leave for a judicial review and the hearing of the review itself, the LRC asked whether or not the filtering "leave" stage could be omitted. However, it concluded that it could not.
The question of delay is an important one in judicial review proceedings, as starting such proceedings can "freeze" the project under review. Thus a planned road development, or the granting of a mobile phone licence, can be held up for many months, if not years, by such proceedings.
To reduce such delays, the commission suggests that the judges involved supervise each stage of the proceedings, ensuring documents are exchanged speedily. This is case management.
It also suggests penalising, by withholding costs, those who cause delays, even if they ultimately win the case.
It also proposes that, where an applicant exceeds the time limit for submitting an application for leave, he or she should show good reason for getting an extension of time.
The consultation paper is the first stage in the production of recommendations, if any, for policy change. The Law Reform Commission is now seeking submissions prior to preparing its report.
The closing date for submissions is April 30th.