If you are unhappy with the way a public body has made a decision you may be able to ask for a judicial review. This can be a long and expensive process, and there is no guarantee that the decision will be changed.

You will need legal advice if you want to apply for judicial review. Contact the Law Centre (Northern Ireland) for more information on judicial review.

• What is judicial review?
• When can judicial review be used?
• What happens after a judicial review?

What is judicial review?

Judicial review is legal action that can be used to challenge decisions made by public bodies like the Housing Executive. It is used to challenge the way that decisions are made, not the actual decisions. For example, you can use judicial review when the Housing Executive did not take into account relevant facts about your housing situation.

You will need legal advice if you want to apply for a judicial review. An adviser can tell you whether you have a good case and can help with practical matters such as filling in court forms and preparing for hearings.

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When can judicial review be used?

You may be able to apply for a judicial review of a decision if a public body:

• ignores relevant factors while investigating your situation;
• refuses to review its original decision.

If you want to use judicial review you must get permission from the  court within three months of the final decision. The court will decide if the organisation followed the correct procedures when deciding your case. If the court finds that the correct procedures were not followed, the public organisation will have to look at your case again.

Can I always ask for a judicial review

You can only ask for a judicial review if the organisation that made the decision is a public body. For example, you may want to ask for a judicial review of a decision made by:

• the Housing Executive;
• a housing association;
• the Social Security Agency;
• Land & Property Services.

The judge will look at the merits of your case before deciding whether to start a judicial review. You will need specialist legal advice if you want to apply for a judicial review. An adviser can tell you whether you have a good case and can help with practical matters such as filling in court forms and preparing for hearings.

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What happens after a judicial review?

The judicial review looks at the way your case was decided. It does not look at the actual decision. If the judge decides that the organisation didn't follow the correct procedure, the organisation will have to look again at your case.

However, this does not mean that the decision will be changed. The organisation may come to the same decision using the correct procedures.