What constitutes a reasonable claim for a Judicial Review?

Lib Dems and SNP lose battle to appear on the recent ITV Debate

The Liberal Democrats and the SNP will not appear in the first televised debate of the 2019 general election after losing a High Court battle against ITV.

Both parties challenged the decision to only include Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn in a head-to-head debate staged last night – with the Liberal Democrats arguing in court that the “voice of remain had been excluded” from the event.

However, two senior judges have said the decision fell outside of the courts’ jurisdiction and that the parties would be better off complaining to broadcasting regulator Ofcom.

Source: The Independent

Judicial Reviews – Claims must fall within the ambit of a public function

Craig Court, Senior Associate within the Civil Liberties team at Harding Evans Solicitors, provides the following commentary on the requirements for a Judicial Review:

“Following the recent decision in Lib Dems & SNP v ITV, we are reminded that a claim for Judicial Review is “a claim to the lawfulness of a decision, action or failure to act in relation to the exercise of a public function”. It is very difficult to argue that a private body’s decision falls within the ambit of a public function. The High Court’s decision to refuse permission to apply in this case was unsurprising”.