Lewy v Lord Chancellor's Department

Where permission to apply for judicial review has been refused by the Court of Appeal, there is no further jurisdiction in either the Court of Appeal or the House of Lords to entertain the matter. The Court of Appeal is functus once its refusal of permission has been made. The House of Lords has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal against such a refusal. The rule applies as a matter of jurisdiction, so the application must be refused.

The claimant sought judicial review concerning complaints she had made against solicitors to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Legal Services Ombudsman and the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal. Permission was refused at first instance and by a Divisional Court. Pill LJ subsequently refused permission to appeal in the Court of Appeal.

The claimant sought to continue the proceedings and to take the matter to the House of Lords. The issue was whether either court retained jurisdiction after the Court of Appeal had refused permission.

1. Application refused. The Court of Appeal had power to refuse permission to appeal, and Pill LJ had exercised that power on 14 November.
2. The Court of Appeal was thereafter functus in the matter. It had no further jurisdiction to entertain the claimant's applications.
3. The House of Lords had no jurisdiction to entertain an appeal relating to refusal of permission to apply for judicial review. Re Poh [1983] 1 WLR 2 had established that position, and R v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ex p Eastaway [2000] 1 WLR 2222 had upheld and confirmed it. The latter decision was binding on the Court of Appeal and on Sir Denis Henry.
4. The reasoning was consistent with Lane v Esdaile [1891] AC 210, under which there could be no appeal against a refusal of permission to appeal. The application was therefore refused for want of jurisdiction, with no order as to costs.

• Administrative Court (Queen's Bench Division): Collins J refused permission to bring judicial review proceedings.
• Divisional Court: Kennedy LJ and Butterfield J refused the renewed application for judicial review.
• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): Pill LJ refused permission to appeal. The present application was refused because the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords had no further jurisdiction.