A consultation paper (70-page / 392KB PDF) published by the Ministry of Justice on Friday sets out proposals for planning judicial reviews and statutory challenges to be transferred to a newly created Specialist Planning Chamber in the Upper Tribunal with specialist planning judges.
The MoJ said in the paper that it had made the proposals in response to Government concern over the "significant" recent growth in judicial reviews, with more than twice as many judicial review applications being made now compared to ten years ago.
Although much of the growth has been in immigration and asylum cases, the MoJ said that those cases take up court and judicial resources with consequences for the handling of other cases. "Unmeritorious cases in other areas can delay wider Government reforms and the progress of major infrastructure projects which are intended to stimulate growth and promote economic recovery," it said.
The new Chamber would be likely to reassure developers that any challenges "will be resolved quickly", particularly if there are "accompanying procedural rules which set down specific time limits for determining statutory challenges and judicial reviews, leading to a quicker process overall," the paper said.
"We want to make sure judicial review continues its crucial role in holding authorities and others to account, but also that it is used for the right reasons and is not abused by people to cause vexatious delays or to generate publicity for themselves at the expense of ordinary tax-payers," said Justice Secretary Chris Grayling in a statement.
The proposals follow reforms to the judicial review process introduced in July, including a reduction in the time limit for making applications and increased court fees.
”A specialist court for dealing with planning challenges would be welcomed by the development industry and Public Sector alike who are often faced with the uncertainty of being allocated a judge unfamiliar with the complexities and nuances of the planning system," said Mike Pocock, planning law expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.
"Planning judicial reviews account for a small proportion of overall judicial reviews which can mean they are subject to the delays and inefficiencies brought about by the vast amounts of asylum and immigration cases which place a strain on the system," Pocock said.
"Given the importance of development and infrastructure projects it is vitally important that these are not delayed for any longer than necessary and that they are dealt with by judges who are expert and not `learning on the job` about planning and environmental law. Decisions which are made on a correct basis in the first instance will also minimise appeals to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court," he added.
The consultation also seeks views on speeding up appeals in important cases by making it possible more often for them to be considered by the Supreme Court without first going to the Court of Appeal and on targeting legal aid funding at cases with merit. The consultation is open for comments until 1 November 2013.
