Judicial Review Blog

Plain-English guides to challenging public body decisions in the High Court: the limits, the grounds, the process and the reality. Written by a practising solicitor — not a content mill.

Basics

What Is Judicial Review in Ireland? The Complete Guide

The High Court process for challenging public body decisions: who can apply, against what, on which grounds, and what it can achieve.

Basics

Judicial Review Time Limits in Ireland: 3 Months, 8 Weeks, 28 Days

The general rule, the shorter statutory limits, when the clock starts and how extensions really work.

Basics

Grounds for Judicial Review in Ireland Explained

Ultra vires, fair procedures, reasons, irrationality, proportionality and legitimate expectation - what each actually requires.

Basics

Certiorari, Mandamus & Prohibition: Judicial Review Remedies

What each order does, when declarations and injunctions fit, and why the remedy chosen shapes the whole case.

Process

The Leave Stage of Judicial Review in the High Court

How permission to proceed works, the thresholds that apply - and where the leave stage no longer exists at all.

Basics

Judicial Review vs Appeal: What’s the Difference?

Merits versus lawfulness - the distinction that decides which route you take and what winning actually gets you.

Planning

Judicial Review of Planning Permission in Ireland

How neighbours and developers challenge planning decisions - and the dual regime now running under the 2000 and 2024 Acts.

Planning

The Planning and Development Act 2024: Judicial Review Changes

No leave stage, tightened standing, locked grounds, remittal powers and a new costs regime - the reforms explained.

Immigration

Judicial Review of an International Protection Refusal

Challenging IPO and Tribunal decisions: the 28-day limit, the grounds that succeed and how the appeal route fits.

Immigration

Challenging a Deportation Order in Ireland

The most urgent challenges in the system: reviewing the order, restraining removal and moving inside 28 days.

Immigration

Judicial Review of Visa & Immigration Permission Refusals

Join-family visas, residence permissions and citizenship delay - when refusals and silence can be challenged.

Grounds

Failure to Give Reasons: A Powerful Ground of Challenge

Why public bodies must explain their decisions, what counts as adequate reasons, and how the ground is deployed.

Grounds

Legitimate Expectation in Irish Law Explained

When a public body’s promise or settled practice binds it - and the limits of the doctrine.

Grounds

Fair Procedures & Natural Justice in Ireland

The right to be heard and the rule against bias: what fairness requires before a decision goes against you.

Process

Judicial Review Costs in Ireland: The Honest Picture

What proceedings cost, your exposure if you lose, environmental costs protection, the new planning costs rules and legal aid.

Welfare & Health

Judicial Review of Social Welfare Decisions

When welfare appeals go legally wrong: flawed appeals office decisions, refused oral hearings and the revision route.

Education

School Expulsions, Section 29 Appeals & SUSI: Education Challenges

Challenging expulsions, enrolment refusals and grant decisions - the appeal ladder and where judicial review fits.

Process

Can You Judicially Review a Court Decision?

District and Circuit Court decisions can be reviewed - but the criminal-process boundary makes route selection critical.

Process

How Long Does Judicial Review Take in Ireland?

From pre-action letter to judgment: realistic timelines, what speeds cases up and why many resolve early.

Process

The Pre-Action Letter in Judicial Review

The letter that wins cases before they issue: what it contains, why it protects costs and when to send it.