Caution on judicial review is necessary
Granted, he later added that the courts have been more vigilant these days and the approval rates for judicial reviews have dropped by half.
Nevertheless, I agree that the example used by Mr Litton of Yvonne Leung Lai-kwok’s case was a very good case in point, even though her application for a judicial review did not succeed. (Leung had sought a judicial review of the public consultation on political reform.)
The general perception is that a disgruntled member of the public is entitled to a punt at the executive branch, provided he can get legal representation to initiate the procedure. While we know the hefty costs incurred by the courts and ultimately borne by the public, it would appear that the applicant does not have to take this into consideration before he takes this course of action.
I agree with Mr Litton’s stance that greater vigilance needs to be taken in adjudication of future judicial reviews.
T. C. Ng, North Point