Remedies

Abstract

When an applicant for judicial review succeeds in demonstrating that an administrative decision was unlawful because it breached the principles of institutional structures, procedural fairness or substantive review, the court must then decide whether to grant a remedy. This Chapter first discusses the nature of the remedies available to a reviewing court, explaining how the different characteristics of the so-called ‘prerogative writs’ and their successors can be understood in terms of the values of individual self-realisation, good administration, electoral legitimacy and decisional autonomy. It highlights how judges’ choices whether to issue a remedy and how to structure a remedy can also be understood as being influenced by these values. The chapter then addresses several aspects of judicial discretion not to grant a remedy and the ability to sever problematic aspects of a decision, again demonstrating the influence of administrative law values.