The Queen on the application of Howard v Swansea Crown Court

Permission to apply for judicial review may properly be refused where the proposed challenge is brought after extreme delay and the facts do not justify extending time. Permission may also be refused where, even if time were extended, judicial review would serve no useful function. An explanation based on mental illness does not require an extension where the circumstances do not make one appropriate.

Mr John Howard sought permission to appeal Richards J’s refusal on 30 July 2001 to permit an application for judicial review. The proposed review concerned a decision made by His Honour Judge Griffiths QC in Swansea Crown Court in 1982, relating to the loss of the claimant’s hotel licence. The claimant attributed the delay to periods of mental illness and wished to place a lengthy statement before a court. The central issues were whether the delay should be extended and whether judicial review would serve any useful function.

Lord Justice Schiemann refused the application for permission to appeal and made no order as to costs.

1. The proposed judicial review was approximately 19 years out of time. The delay was extreme, rather than a short or moderate delay capable of straightforward explanation.
2. The claimant relied substantially on periods of mental illness to explain the delay. On the facts, however, the circumstances did not make it appropriate to extend time.
3. Even if time had been extended, the court would not have fulfilled any useful function by entertaining the proposed judicial review. There was no apparent basis for concluding that His Honour Judge Griffiths QC had acted improperly in the court process.
4. The claimant’s wish to place a lengthy statement before a court, concerning alleged misconduct by various persons, did not provide a reason to grant permission for judicial review. The application was therefore refused.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): Lord Justice Schiemann refused permission to appeal and made no order as to costs.
• Richards J: on 30 July 2001 refused permission for an application for judicial review, relying on the extreme delay and the absence of any apparent impropriety in the underlying court process.
• Swansea Crown Court: the proposed judicial review related to a decision made by His Honour Judge Griffiths QC in 1982.