New court move will boost legal sector
A NEW Administrative Court has opened allowing those challenging the decisions of public bodies to have their cases heard in Yorkshire for the first time.
The launch of the Administrative Court in Leeds this week means that judges will hear judicial reviews at Leeds Combined Court Centre.
The move has seen similar courts launched in Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester to allow claimants improved access to justice as previously they had to take the time and bear the cost of travelling to London.
Judicial review is the procedure by which a person or organisation can seek to challenge a decision or action of a public body such as a government department or local authority.
The move has been backed by the head of legal at Leeds City Council who said it could help save the authority money and boost the region’s legal sector.
Stuart Turnock, chief officer for legal, licencing and registration services at Leeds City Council, said: “We do expect to save resources now that we can defend judicial review claims at a local court, as clearly making arrangements for matters to be dealt with in London is more expensive and time consuming. It will be more cost effective to use more local professional expertise in future and we are satisfied that there is the quality of representation available to pursue that course.
“Leeds City Council fully supported the proposal to locate an administrative court in Leeds and we were delighted when the decision was made to proceed to do so.”
Frances Patterson QC, head of chambers at Leeds and Manchester-based Kings Chambers has been heavily involved in the campaign to bring the court away from London, and she said the change represents a shift in thinking.
“The establishment of the Administrative Court in the regions is a testament to the level of expertise and interest in public law work in the rest of the country and demonstrates the common misconception that administrative law practice is concentrated in the South East.
“During the first year of regionalisation, it is expected that only nominated High Court judges will sit in the regional centres which shows how seriously the judiciary is taking the project.”
