What judicial review is
Launch library · evergreen read
Judicial review is the process by which courts examine whether an action taken by government, a minister, or a public body was lawful, meaning it was properly authorised, followed fair procedure, and stayed within the limits set by relevant legislation or the constitution itself at every stage, even when the stakes seem relatively low.
It differs from an ordinary appeal in that a court conducting judicial review is generally not asking whether the decision was the best one available, but whether the decision maker had the legal power to make it and followed the correct process in reaching that particular decision.
Judicial review acts as a check on executive power precisely because it applies even when a decision is popular or urgent, ensuring that officials remain accountable to legal limits rather than only to political pressure or shifting public opinion at any given moment in time, however intense it becomes.