In order:- ‘to make good a natural justice challenge an applicant must establish where there is a real, as opposed to purely minimal possibility that the outcome would have been different’ (Simon Brown J) Bingham LJ: ‘While cases may no doubt arise in which it can properly be held that denying the subject of a decision an adequate opportunity to put his case is not in all the circumstances unfair, I would expect these cases to be of great rarity. There are a number of reasons for this:- 1. Unless the subject of the decision has had the opportunity to put his case it may not be easy to knew what case he could or would have put if he had the chance. 2. As memorably pointed out by Megarry J in John v. Rees [1970] Ch 345 at page 402, experience shows that what is confidently expected is by no means always that which happens. 3. It is generally desirable that decision-makers should be reasonably receptive to argument, and it would therefore be unfortunate if a complainant’s position became weaker as the decision-maker’s mind became more closed. 4. In considering whether the complainant’s representations would have made any difference to the outcome the court may unconsciously stray from its proper province of reviewing the propriety of the decision-making process into the forbidden territory of evaluating the substantial merits of a decision. 5. This is a field in which appearances are generally thought to matter. 6. Where the decision-maker is under a duty to act fairly the subject of the decision may properly be said to have a right to be heard, and rights are not to be lightly denied’.
Judges:
Simon Brown J, Bingham LJ
Citations:
[1990] IRLR 344
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Capenhurst and Others, Regina (on the Application Of) v Leicester City Council Admn 15-Sep-2004
The applicants, representatives of voluntary organisations, challenged decisions of the local authority to withdraw their funding, saying the decision making process had been unfair.
Held: Even if it was not bound to consult, if the authority . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Administrative
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.213648