Question

The grounds for judicial review of administrative action was highlighted by Lord Diplock in the case

• A. Chief Constable of the North Wales Police v Evans
• B. Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service
• C. R v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
• D. West Minister Corporation v London and North Western Rly.Co.

Hint:

The acronym "IIP" (Illegality, Irrationality, Procedural Impropriety) is an easy way to remember Lord Diplock's three classic grounds of judicial review from the *GCHQ* case.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the landmark English case where Lord Diplock systematically classified the grounds for the judicial review of administrative actions.

Step 2: Key Legal Principles and Approach:
The grounds for judicial review were historically developed in a piecemeal manner through common law.
We must identify the celebrated House of Lords judgment (often referred to as the GCHQ case) that provided a structured, tri-partite classification of these grounds.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:

• The Case: The grounds were highlighted by Lord Diplock in the case of Council of Civil Service Unions v. Minister for the Civil Service (1984) (commonly known as the GCHQ case).

• Lord Diplock's Three Grounds: In his judgment, Lord Diplock famously consolidated the grounds for judicial review into three main heads:

• 1. Illegality: This means that the decision-maker must understand correctly the law that regulates his decision-making power and must give effect to it.

• 2. Irrationality: This refers to what is commonly known as "Wednesbury unreasonableness."

• It applies to a decision which is so outrageous in its defiance of logic or accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied his mind to the question to be decided could have arrived at it.

• 3. Procedural Impropriety: This covers the failure to observe basic rules of natural justice (like *audi alteram partem*) or the failure to act with procedural fairness, as well as failure to observe statutory procedural rules.

• Lord Diplock also mentioned a fourth possible ground: "proportionality", which might be adopted in the future.

• Therefore, Option (B) is the correct answer.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The grounds for judicial review were systematically classified into illegality, irrationality, and procedural impropriety by Lord Diplock in the *GCHQ* case (*CCSU*), making Option (B) the correct answer.