Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No. 3 of 2000)

6. Judicial review of administrative action

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1)Any person may institute proceedings in a court or a tribunal for the judicial review of an administrative action.

 

2)A court or tribunal has the power to judicially review an administrative action if-
a)the administrator who took it-
i)was not authorised to do so by the empowering provision;
ii)acted under a delegation of power which was not authorised by the empowering provision; or
iii)was biased or reasonably suspected of bias;
b)a mandatory and material procedure or condition prescribed by an empowering provision was not complied with;
c)the action was procedurally unfair;
d)the action was materially influenced by an error of law;
e)the action was taken-
i)for a reason not authorised by the empowering provision;
ii)for an ulterior purpose or motive;
iii)because irrelevant considerations were taken into account or relevant considerations were not considered;
iv)because of the unauthorised or unwarranted dictates of another person or body;
v)in bad faith; or
vi)arbitrarily or capriciously;
f)the action itself-
i)contravenes a law or is not authorised by the empowering provision; or
ii)is not rationally connected to-
aa)the purpose for which it was taken;
bb)the purpose of the empowering provision;
cc)the information before the administrator; or
dd)the reasons given for it by the administrator;
g)the action concerned consists of a failure to take a decision;
h)the exercise of the power or the performance of the function authorised by the empowering provision, in pursuance of which the administrative action was purportedly taken, is so unreasonable that no reasonable person could have so exercised the power or performed the function; or
i)the action is otherwise unconstitutional or unlawful.

 

3)If any person relies on the ground of review referred to in subsection (2)(g), he or she may in respect of a failure to take a decision, where-
a)
i)an administrator has a duty to take a decision;
ii)there is no law that prescribes a period within which the administrator is required to take that decision; and
iii)the administrator has failed to take that decision,

institute proceedings in a court or tribunal for judicial review of the failure to take the decision on the ground that there has been unreasonable delay in taking the decision; or

b)
i)an administrator has a duty to take a decision;
ii)a law prescribes a period within which the administrator is required to take that decision; and
iii)the administrator has failed to take that decision before the expiration of that period,

institute proceedings in a court or tribunal for judicial review of the failure to take the decision within that period on the ground that the administrator has a duty to take the decision notwithstanding the expiration of that period.