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The 'sufficient interest' test

While judicial review focuses on the lawfulness or otherwise of a public body decision, act or omission, rather than say, resolving a dispute between parties, it remains the case that any applicant (claimant) bringing a claim needs to have sufficient interest (also known as ‘standing’ or locus standii) in the alleged decision, act or omission by the public body. This is a matter of jurisdiction of the court rather than, say, agreement between the parties then seeking to confer jurisdiction on the court by consent: see for example paragraph 29 of R (Good Law Project) v Prime Minister.

In general, the court takes a very broad approach to standing and it is unusual for a claim to fail on this issue. However, not every member of the public can complain about every potential breach of duty by a public body.

To determine whether an applicant has sufficient interest, the court must look