Judicial review provides justice for ordinary citizens. It must be protected from a populist fervour that would damage Britain
- Gina Miller is a transparency campaigner who took legal action to prevent Boris Johnson proroguing parliament
There is one thing that Boris Johnson and I actually agree on, and it is that courts and judges should never be used to “conduct politics by another means”, as he said in his election manifesto and again in a 2020 speech. But what Johnson proposed on Monday with his interpretation bill – which would make it possible for the government to strike out findings from judicial reviews that he and his ministers disagree with – would make our courts overtly and dangerously political.
A judicial review allows judges to examine the lawfulness of an action taken by a public body, they are often initiated by citizens or civil society groups to hold government to account. The cases that I brought against Johnson’s and Theresa May’s governments, challenging their right to make policy without parliamentary approval, and further to prorogue parliament, were cited as his excuse for asserting “parliamentary sovereignty” over “an unelected judiciary”.
Gina Miller is a businesswoman and transparency campaigner who took legal action to prevent Boris Johnson proroguing parliament
