ADMINISTRATIVE COURTS AND TRIBUNAL

IMPORTANT STATEMENT REGARDING THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT LIST ISSUED 4TH APRIL 2008
Statement by Collins J Lead Judge of the Administrative Court
PRACTICE STATEMENT REGARDING UNCONTESTED PROCEEDINGS
Practice Statement (Administrative Court: uncontested proceedings)
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE RETURN OF COURT BUNDLES
With effect from the 21st April 2008, it will be the policy of the Administrative court office to return all court bundles and ring binders to the parties at the end of each permission application, if permission has been refused, or following substantive hearing. All original documents will be retained in the appropriate court file.
It will be the responsibility of the lodging party to remove their bundles from the court and arrange for their collection. Any bundles left in Court after the hearing will be destroyed.


Jurisdiction Judges nominated to deal with the Administrative Court list The Administrative Court Staff Court sittings Appendix A - Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction on the Administrative Court is varied, consisting of the administrative law jurisdiction of England and Wales as well as a supervisory jurisdiction over inferior courts and tribunals.
The supervisory jurisdiction, exercised in the main through the procedure of Judicial Review, covers persons or bodies exercising a public law function - a wide and still growing field. Examples of the types of decision which may fall within the range of Judicial Review include:
Decisions of local authorities in the exercise of their duties to provide various welfare benefits and special education for children in need of such education;
Certain decisions of the immigration authorities and Immigration Appellate Authority;
Decisions of regulatory bodies;
Decisions relating to prisoner's rights.
Appendix A sets out a brief description of the types of cases dealt with and how the work is divided between single judge courts and Divisional Courts (which consist of at least two judges and normally consist of a Lord Justice of Appeal sitting with a judge of the High Court).
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Judges nominated to deal with the Administrative Court List
Judges are nominated by the Lord Chief Justice to site on Administrative cases. There are presently 37 judges, including judges of the Chancery Division and of the Family Division who act as additional judges of the Queen's Bench Division when dealing with Administrative Court cases. The Honourable Mr Justice Collins is the Lead Judge and has judicial oversight and control of the Administrative Court.
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The Administrative Court Staff
The administration of the Court is the responsibility of the Administrative Court Office under the direction of the Master of the Administrative Court, Master Venne and Mrs Lynne Knapman, Head of the Administrative Court Office. The staff comprises of lawyers and administrative grades. Each lawyer has a caseload and responsibility for the effective management of that caseload. The lawyer's caseloads are divided by topic (Word 33.28Kb).
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Court sittings
Each constitution, whether Divisional Court or single judges, sits for approximately 3 weeks. The importance of properly prepared papers and written arguments for the Court cannot be too highly stressed.
The Administrative Court now has regular use of six courtrooms in the Royal Courts of Justice: Courts 1,2,3,10,27 and 28.
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Appendix A - Jurisdiction
Judicial review - of decisions of inferior courts and tribunals, public bodies and persons exercising a public function. Criminal cases may arise from decisions of magistrates' courts or the Crown Court when it is acting in its appellate capacity.
Statutory appeals and applications - the right given by certain statutes to challenge decisions of e.g. Ministers, Local Government, Tribunals.
Statutory review – challenge to decisions of the IAT to refuse leave to appeal.
Appeals by way of case stated - appeals against decisions of magistrates' courts and the Crown Court (predominantly criminal cases)
Applications for habeas corpus
Applications for committal for contempt
Applications for an order preventing a vexatious litigant from instituting or continuing proceedings without the leave of a judge
Applications under the Coroners Act 1988
Some matters are required by statute or rules of Court to be heard by a Divisional Court( i.e. a court of two or more judges):
Applications for committal for contempt where the contempt (a) is committed in connection with (i) proceedings before a Q.B. Divisional Court, (ii) criminal proceedings (except where it is in the face of the court or disobedience to an order), (iii) proceedings in an inferior court or (b) is committed otherwise than in any proceedings;
Appeals from the Law Society Disciplinary Tribunal. Such appeals are heard by a three judge court unless the Lord Chief Justice otherwise directs. By convention these appeals are heard by a Court presided over by the Lord Chief Justice;
Applications under s.13 of the Coroners Act 1988 (with fiat of the Attorney General);
Applications for vexatious litigant orders under s.42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981;
Applications relating to parliamentary and local government elections under the Representation of the People Acts (unless exercisable by a single judge by express statutory provision).
Others can be and usually are heard by a Divisional Court:
Applications for judicial review in a criminal cause or matter;
Applications for leave to apply for judicial review in a criminal cause or matter, after refusal by a single judge (whether on paper or after oral argument);
Appeals by way of case stated in a criminal cause or matter, whether from the Crown Court or from a magistrates court;
The remaining matters in the Administrative Court List will generally be heard by a single judge.