Judicial review applications down 16 per cent in first half of this year
There were 1,200 applications for Judicial Reviews in the county court in the first half of 2021, down 16 per cent on the same period in 2020 (comparing to 2020 data as JR cases were not significantly impacted by Covid-19).
The figures are included in the latest civil county court statistics released by the Ministry of Justice.
Of the applications made in the period January to June 2021, 34 per cent are now closed. Of the total applications, 430 reached the permission stage in 2021, and of these:
- 11 per cent (48) were found to be totally without merit.
- 150 cases were granted permission to proceed and 280 were refused at the permission stage. However, 24 of the cases refused at permission stage went on to be granted permission at the renewal stage.
- 170 of the 2021 cases have been assessed to be eligible for a final hearing and of these, 18 have since been heard.
- For the 2021 cases, the mean time from a case being lodged to the permission decision was 35 days, slightly up from 36 days across the same period of 2020. The mean time from a case being lodged to final hearing decision was 74 days, (this has not been compared to the same period in 2020 as only one case was heard).
The Judicial Review and Courts Bill, introduced in the House of Lords by the Government, is set to have its second reading on a day to be appointed.
For the civil county court statistics, click here. For progress of the Judicial Review and Courts Bill, click here.
5/9/21