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UK Supreme Court clarifies alternative remedy test in judicial review: private law or Ombudsman routes need not bar challenges to regulators; courts review regulators’ information, not find facts (Northern Ireland)

Published on: 12 December 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Public Law expert
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Article summary

Re an Application by Noeleen McAleenon for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) [2024] UKSC 31

What are the practical implications of this case?

The Supreme Court’s ruling, although grounded in Northern Ireland’s statutory scheme and enforcement arrangements, firmly confirms that the mere existence of alternative avenues does not, of itself, bar judicial review. Possible routes such as:

  • a claim in nuisance,
  • a private prosecution of the site’s occupier, or
  • a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman

do not automatically preclude JR. Judicial review remains a public law right, and a public authority’s failure to act is properly subject to scrutiny by the courts. The ramifications reach beyond Northern Ireland. Crucially, whether a claimant ought to have proceeded against another party by a different cause of action is, as a matter of civil litigation principle, for the claimant to decide—both as to the form of claim and the party against whom it is advanced. As recognised in R (Glencore Energy UK ltd) v Revenue and Customs Comrs [2017] EWCA Civ 1716, judicial review remains ‘in the High Court is ordinarily a remedy...

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