Government data shows falls across the board in number of judicial review applications in 2021

There were 2,300 judicial review applications received in 2021, down 18% on 2020 (2,800) and down 31% on 2019 (from 3,400), government data has revealed.

The fall was principally in relation to civil immigration and asylum applications, down 31% to 800. However, the number of civil (other) applications was down 9% to 1,400,and of criminal applications was down 10% to 140.

The Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2021 also revealed that of the total applications, 1,300 reached the permission stage in 2021, and of these:

• 15% (190) were found to be totally without merit (TWM).
• 370 cases were granted permission to proceed and 870 were refused at the permission stage. However, 64 of the cases refused at permission stage went on to be granted permission at the renewal stage.
• 430 cases have been assessed to be eligible for a final hearing and of these, 93 have since been heard.
• the mean time from a case being lodged to the permission decision was 79 days, and the mean time from a case being lodged to final hearing decision was 178 days.

The Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly also set out the data for Q4 in 2021. This found that judicial review applications were down 15% compared to the same quarter in 2020 and down 29% on Q4 2019 (pre-covid baseline).

Of the 570 applications received in Q4 2021, 200 were civil immigration and asylum applications, 340 were civil (other), and 31 were criminal, down 26%, down 7% and down 14% respectively on Q4 2020.

Of the Q4 applications, 23% have already closed, and 16 were found to be ‘Totally Without Merit’ (13% of cases that reached the permission stage).

The Home Office was the department/body with the largest number of JR applications lodged against them in Q4, with 190 applications. Of these, 13 were granted permission to proceed to final hearing (7% of applications) to date.

The second largest recipient of JR cases was local authorities, with 160 cases received, of which to date 17 have been granted permission to proceed to final hearing (11% of applications).

The third largest recipient was the Ministry of Justice, having 100 applications lodged against it. Of these, three were granted permission to proceed to final hearing (3% of applications) to date.

The Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly noted more broadly that civil justice actions remain below pre-Covid-19 levels. “Following the marked recovery seen as a result of the impact of measures undertaken by the courts, volumes of all actions have stabilised in recent quarters,” it added.

The Judicial Review and Courts Bill, which includes reforms to judicial review, is scheduled to reach the report stage in the House of Lords on 28 March 2022.

The reforms include giving courts the power to make suspended and prospective-only quashing orders, and changes to so-called ‘Cart’ judicial reviews - mainly used in immigration cases - which critics say would effectively prevent claimants from challenging Upper Tribunal decisions to refuse permission to appeal.