Wednesbury Principle


“A person entrusted with a discretion must, so to speak, direct himself properly in law.  He must call his own attention to the matters which he is bound to consider.

He must exclude from his consideration matters which are irrelevant to what he has to consider”.  And if he “does not obey those rules he may truly be said and often is said to be acting unreasonably”.

The support for this proposition is Associated Provincial Picture Houses Limited v Wednesbury Corporation 1948 (1KB223) and see also R (Galaxy Land Limited v Durham County Council 2015 EWHC 16 (Admin).

If you are faced with a bizzare decision, or one you consider to be ‘off the wall’ and unreasonable, consult the London fixed fee legal experts, HPLC.

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