Lodging an Application for leave to apply for Judicial Review

Before issuing judicial review proceedings, applicants should refer to revised Practice Note 1/2008 which provides general guidance in relation to judicial review proceedings. 

If you require a Practice Direction please email the library with the relevant details and we will make every effort to fulfil your request Email: library@courtsni.gov.uk

Judicial review procedures are set out in Order 53 of the Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980.

An application for leave must be made by lodging the following documents in the Judicial Review Office together with the court fee of £261.00

• Ex parte docket
• Order 53 statement setting out the name and description of the applicant, the relief sought and the grounds on which it is sought
• The decision under challenge must be specified and the relief sought, which may be an order of certiorari to quash the decision at issue, a declaration that the decision was wrong in law, or an order of mandamus to order the decision maker to reach a different decision. Your statement may consist of one or more forms of relief depending on the issue involved and include the grounds on which you seek the relief
• Affidavit or affidavits, as the case may require, verifying the facts relied on
• An affidavit must be signed by the person swearing (normally the applicant) and sworn before a Justice of the Peace or a solicitor empowered to administer oaths for the Court of Judicature. The date and place of swearing and a filing clause must be included.

An application for leave to apply must be made promptly and in any event within three months from the date the grounds for the application first arose unless the court considers there is good reason to extend the period within which the application shall be made.  

A successful application for leave to apply for judicial review is followed by the issue of a notice of motion to allow the matter to progress to a substantive hearing.

The fee required on the issue of a notice of motion is £261.00.The Notice of Motion must be lodged within 14 days of the grant of leave or leave will lapse and a fresh application for leave will be required.

• A guide to proceedings in the High Court for people without legal representation is available here