REUTERS | Brian Snyder
26/01/2016

Section 31(2A) Senior Courts Act 1981: duty to refuse relief where outcome not substantially different if conduct complained of had not occurred

It is almost a year now since the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2014-15 (CJCA 2015) received Royal Assent on 15 February 2015. One of the changes heralded by Part 4 of the CJCA 2015 was section 84, dealing with the likelihood of a substantially different outcome for the applicant, see Legal update, Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2014-2015 receives Royal Assent: public sector implications.  That section amended section 31 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (SCA 1981) with effect from 13 April 2015, to provide that if it appears to the High Court to be highly likely that the outcome for the applicant would not have been substantially different if the conduct complained of had not occurred, the court:

  • Must refuse to grant relief on an application for judicial review.
  • May not make an award under subsection 4 (relating to damages) on such an application.

(Section 31(2A)(a)(b), SCA 1981.)

Section 31(2B) of the SCA 1981 states that the court may disregard the requirements in section 31(2A) if it considers that it is appropriate to do so for reasons of exceptional public interest. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Michael Dalder
20/01/2016

Education law quarterly digest (October 2015 – January 2016)

This is the latest in our series of quarterly education update blogs which will enable readers to catch up on the most important cases, issues or developments in education law from October 2015 to January 2016. Please feel free to submit a comment below or send us an Ask query if you have any views on the cases, issues, or legal development that are covered or if you think we have missed something that should be brought to the attention of education law practitioners.

In this post, we look at:

  • Recent case law.
  • Legislative developments.
  • Government consultations.
  • Government guidance and policy statements.

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Russell Cheyne
13/01/2016

Public procurement case digest (December 2015)

December’s case digest includes a Scottish Court of Session judgment representing the first declaration of ineffectiveness from a UK court, a Court of Appeal judgment upholding a High Court ruling that the award of damages for breach of the public procurement rules is not discretionary, and an ECJ ruling on time limits in procurement actions.

Please feel free to submit a comment below or send us an Ask query if you have any views on the cases covered, or think that we have missed a case that should be brought to the attention of public procurement practitioners. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Andrew Winning
04/01/2016

Freedom of information law quarterly digest (October – December 2015)

Our quarterly freedom of information law update blogs focus on the latest developments in freedom of information law under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3391) (EIR). The blog will enable readers advising on freedom of information law to catch up on the most important cases, issues or developments on the topic. This post looks at freedom of information law developments from October to December 2015.

Please feel free to submit a comment below or send us an Ask query if you have any views on the cases, issues or developments that are covered, or if you think we have missed something that should be brought to the attention of freedom of information practitioners. Continue reading →