A rubber stamp to process

A judicial review is not about whether a decision was “good” or “bad” in policy terms. It is a legal mechanism by which the courts ensure public bodies act within their legal authority, follow fair procedures and genuinely apply their minds to the statutes that govern their powers.

- David Harvey

The grounds on which a case may be reviewed include illegality (acting outside legal powers), procedural unfairness (failure to observe natural justice) and unreasonableness (so extreme that no reasonable authority could reach it). Errors of law, such as applying the wrong test, ignoring relevant considerations or predetermining the outcome, are central.

The Judicial Review Procedure Act 2016 sets out the process, but the principles go back to the old “prerogative writs” of common law. The court's task is supervisory: a decision may be quashed or reconsideration ordered but it does not substitute its own judgment for the outcome.

A roading project at Auckland's Bucklands Beach shows the law in action. In 2021 the Howick Local Board allocated funding for traffic-calming measures. Auckland Transport (AT) refined designs after consultation and its traffic control committee adopted recommendations for crossings and speed humps, doing so by affixing electronic signatures to standard-form reports that included pre-drafted resolutions.