Judicial Reviews
Judicial Reviews
The prison law team at Atkins Law are all trained to detect and advise on the possibility of bringing an application for Judicial Review in the High Court in London.
We are often asked by clients to begin Judicial Review action against the Parole Board or the Secretary of State for Justice where a decision goes against a client.
Judicial Review is always urgent because the rules say that action must be brought prompty within three months of the client’s first sight or knowledge of a decision.
Therefore, having John Atkins as our Head of Practice works very much to our clients’ advantage. He is a trained barrister in his own right, and is also a solicitor-advocate with the right to appear in the High Court, Court of Appeal and the House of Lords.
He can consider the case within hours or even minutes of its arrival in our offices saving clients days and maybe weeks; he also supervises the work in the office and will have a knowledge of our clients’ cases over some months.
Wherever a case manager has any concern about whether a decision is irrational, improper for the bad application of procedure, or illegal, then that is taken straight to John Atkins for an urgent, on the spot, opinion.
He will look at the decision and discuss the case with the client’s case manager. His advice will be communicated to the client urgently.
He may, for example, advise that a negative decision is disproportionate because all of the evidence in a Parole Board oral hearing was positive and advise further enquiries; or that the Prison’s delay in providing courses in an IPP client’s delay is unlawful, and that damages should be sought if nothing else can be done because of the state of the law.
When the client makes the decision to proceed, we will then move the case forward using only those who are expert in both prison law and the law of Judicial Review.
The procedure and case law in Judicial Review is complex and clients who believe they may need assistance should be sure to contact specialists immediately. All of our client’s cases are routinely screened for any possibility that Judicial Review action will assist progress his/her case more quickly.
