Overview of merits information required

A petition for judicial review needs to be lodged within three months of the date of the decision/omission/action to the supervisory jurisdiction of the Court.  As the Rules of the Court of Session allow for twenty eight day sist for legal aid you should lodge your client’s application as soon as possible so we can assess it before the expiry of the time limit.

It is not reasonable to grant legal aid where no attempts have been made to resolve matters extra-judicially. There should be some attempts to resolve matters by negotiation.

Minimum requirements for legal aid applications

Minimum requirements where the petition has not been lodged when the application is made:

  • A precognition from you client detailing their interest in the judicial review and any other factors which might impact on the reasonableness of a grant of legal aid, prospects of success, etc.
  • Date of the decision, action or omission and the date of expiry of the normal time-bar period
  • A copy of the decision, action or omission being challenged with any relevant documents
  • A summary of the grounds to which the decision, action or omission is susceptible to judicial review

Minimum requirements where the petition has been lodged prior to the application being made:

  • A precognition of your client as above
  • A copy of the petition
  • A copy of all relevant documents lodged with the petition
  • Any affidavit that would otherwise be required (where the decision, act or omission subject to challenge is not apparent from the papers)
  • Copies of the interlocutors including, where relevant, written reasons

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