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<p>The Judicial Review and Courts Bill delivers on the Government’s manifesto commitment
to ensure that judicial review is available to protect the rights of individuals against
an overbearing state, while ensuring that it is not abused to conduct politics by
another means or to create needless delays.</p><p> </p><p>The Bill creates new powers
for the courts to modify quashing orders in Judicial Review proceedings and improves
the flexibility of the courts to provide proportionate remedies, increasing the tools
in their toolbox.</p><p> </p><p>Specifically, the power to suspend a quashing order
allows the courts to give time for transitional arrangements to be made, or give Parliament
the opportunity to pass legislation in response to a decision to quash.</p><p> </p><p>The
Bill also allows for the retrospective effect of quashing orders to be removed or
limited. This measure allows the court to protect third parties that have relied on
decisions in the past, and whose legal position may be compromised if that decision
is quashed retrospectively.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, the Bill removes <em>Cart</em>
judicial reviews, by way of a narrow and carefully worded ouster clause. We want to
remove <em>Cart </em>reviews because the situation is, in the Government’s firm view,
a disproportionate use of resources in our justice system. Out of around 750 applications
a year only 3.4% are successful, and these cases take up around 180 days of precious
judicial resource a year.</p><p> </p><p>The Bill finished its Commons Committee stage
on 23 November.</p>
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