Judicial review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Judicial review - Essay Example In England and Wales the Civil Procedure Rules requires that any claim form in respect of an application for judicial review must be filed within three months from the time that the grounds to make the claim first arose1. Judicial review permits people with sufficient interest in a decision or action by a public body to seek judicial review in respect of the legality of an enactment or a decision and action or failure to act in relation to the exercise of a public function2. Judicial review can be resorted to whenever right of appeal is absent or if all avenues of appeal have been exhausted. In such cases the court may insist upon both the defendant and the claimant to provide evidence for the existence of alternative means of resolving their dispute and as such the court will view such litigation as a last resort and will not issue any premature claims. In Morbaine Limited v First Secretary of State3, the Secretary of State granted planning permission for a large mixed-use development. A petition was filed under the Town and Country Planning Act, in the court to quash that decision4. This means of challenge is available to any person who is aggrieved by such decisions. However Blackburne J dismissed the application holding that the petitioners had no grounds of challenge as it lacks sufficient standing for the purposes of section 288. This decision makes it amply clear that petitioner must have a real or genuine interest in obtaining the relief sought. In R v Enfield London Borough Council5, the council accorded permission for Grade II listed building to be used as offices and for the construction of a nursing home in the premises. The conservation advisory group consented to these proposals. The claimant contended that these decisions were invalid due to the bias inherent among the conservation advisory group members. Richards J accepted this and quashed the

The Iraq War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Iraq War - Research Paper Example The primary rationale of military intervention in Iraq as was articulated by the joint congress resolution stated that it was necessary to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein because it was developing and had previously used weapons of mass destruction (WWD), supporting and harboring terrorists and was committing serious human rights abuses (Gordon, 156). It was also argued that it was important to change rogue regimes in the Middle East to starve the support for militant Islamic extremists in the region. The U.S led invasion of Iraq however relied on the authority given by the UN Security Council Resolution that required the international community to employ all the necessary means of compelling the then Iraqi regime to comply with the international obligations. Despite the fact that the United Nations Inspectors did not find any prior evidence of WMD, the U.N resolution was nevertheless issues based on the argument by some inspectors that they could not verify the accuracy of the I raqi declarations regarding the weapons in its possession. Preparations for the military intervention in Iraq began as early as 2001 after President Bush highlighted the intention of the U.S government to change the regime of Saddam Hussein. ... 2003, the rhetoric by the Bush administration against the Iraqi regime increased culminating to the February 2003 presentation of evidence of Iraqi WMD program by Colin Powell to the UN Security Council (Gordon, 89). There was however significant dispute within the U.S military intelligence regarding the accuracy of the conclusions that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. The senate went ahead and approved the joint resolution thereby giving the Bush administration the necessary legal basis to launch the U.S led invasion of Iraq. The resolution reiterated the need to replace Saddam Hussein’s government and promote democratic replacement. Opposition to the Iraqi invasion however increasingly grew after the joint resolution with critics questioning the legitimacy of the invasion and legality of the war. Protests against the Iraqi war were also witnessed in several parts of the United States. In October 2002, the former U.S president Bill Clinton criticized the pl anned war and warned about the potential dangers of such pre-emptive military actions. Dominique De Villepin, the former French Foreign Minister also argued that military intervention was the last solution and should not be carried out. Meanwhile a number of anti war protests were organized in many parts of the world denouncing the decision to wage war against Iraq. The first coalition military operation began in July 2002 when a team of members of CIA special activities division and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) entered Iraq and began making preparations for the invasion by conventional allied forces. Their initial tasks included carrying out reconnaissance missions, identifying targets and persuading Iraqi commanders to surrender rather than opposing the invasion. On March 20,