14 November 2007
36/07
Justice Outside London
Administrative Courts in Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds?
A Judicial Working Group, looking at the administration of justice outside of London, has recommended that four regional centres of the Administrative Court be established: in Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. This will allow regional High Court sittings to take place regularly outside London.
It is recommended that High Court judges will sit at each administrative centre and deal with work currently only administered, heard and dealt with in London at the Royal Courts of Justice.
The Working Group in their report, Justice Outside of London, said:
“Nearly all judicial review and other claims in the Administrative Court have to be brought in London, with the obvious inconvenience and additional expense that this cause for claimants, defendants, interested parties and their lawyers.
The essential point is proper access to justice is not achieved if those in the regions can only bring judicial review and other claims in the Administrative Court in London. The present system discriminates against those who are not in the South of England.”
Questionnaires, numerous targeted discussions and open meetings, arranged at each of the four proposed centres, have informed these recommendations. Views have been sought from Judges, members of the legal profession, local government lawyers, representatives of public authorities and members of the general public.
“It is the overwhelming view of those who attended the open meetings in the 4 regional centres and of others from which we have received written representations that Administrative claims having to be brought in London is prejudicial to those who do not live and work in London or the South East.
“There is a strongly held view that people should be enabled to bring Administrative claims out of London in the regions and to have them heard there. They make what we regard as a very strong, economic, business, professional and social case for doing so.”
In Wales there are also constitutional as well as administrative grounds for the move, for example on judicial review decisions taken by the Welsh National Assembly.
In a recent Judgement (Deepdock and others V Welsh Ministers and others) HH Judge Hickinbottom observed: “With the increased impetus given to devolved government by the Government of Wales Act 2006 and with increasing powers actually being devolved to the National Assembly for Wales, there is in my view a deepening imperative that challenges to any devolved decisions are (like the decisions themselves) dealt with in Wales. Such cases should be heard in Wales unless there are good reasons for their being heard elsewhere.”
Note for Editors
Lord Justice May, Vice-President of the Queen’s Bench Division
Mr Justice Patten, Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster
Mr Justice Gibbs, Presiding Judge of the Midland Circuit
Mr Justice Roderick Evans, Presiding Judge of the Wales and Chester Circuit, and
Mr Justice McCombe, Presiding Judge of the Northern Circuit
Ends