Order 48 — Application for Judicial Review

A party desiring to review a decision or proceedings of an Arbitral Tribunal, or of the Registrar of Trade Unions, or of any Commission or Board of Inquiry or Administrative Body or Panel or any Authority or Committee or Board or any other institution vested with power to deal with any matter arising from a subject matter within the jurisdiction of the Court in this Order referred to as the “Arbitral Body” shall commence the review process by Originating process, which originating process must be served by a motion on notice on that body.

(1) The Originating process shall pray for an order that:
(a) the Arbitral Body, show cause why the decision or proceedings should not be reviewed or corrected or set aside.
(b) the Arbitral Body, shall within 14 days after the receipt of the originating summons dispatch to the Registrar, such record and/or decisions sought to be corrected or set aside, together with such reasons as are required by law or desirable to provide, and to notify the applicant that this has been done.

(2) The person or body upon whom an originating process in terms of rule 2 is served shall timeously comply with the direction in the originating summons.

(3) If the person or body fails to comply with the direction or fails to apply for an extension of time to do so, any interested party may apply, on notice to the Court, for an order compelling compliance with the direction.

(4) The person or body shall make available to the applicant the Certified True Copies (CTC) of the records of the matter regarding which decision or award is being reviewed on such terms as the person or body thinks appropriate to ensure safe keeping of the records by the applicant. The applicant shall make copies of such portions or whole of the records as may be necessary for the purposes of the review and certify each copy as true and correct.

(5) The applicant shall furnish the person or body and each of the other parties with a copy of the record or portion of the record, as the case may be, and a copy of the reasons filed by the person or body.

(6) The cost of the production and certification of records, copying and delivery of the records to the Court and reasons, if any shall be paid by the applicant and then becomes costs in the cause.

(7) A person wishing to oppose the granting of the order prayed in the originating process shall, within seven (7) working days after the receipt of the originating process file an affidavit in answer to the claims made by the applicant.

(8) The applicant may file a counter-affidavit in reply within five (5) working days after receiving the affidavit of the respondent.

(1) An application for:
(a) an order of mandamus, prohibition or certiorari or declaration; or
(b) an injunction restraining a person from acting in an office in which such a person is not entitled to act,
shall be made by way of an application for judicial review in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

(2) An application for a declaration or an injunction (not being an injunction under sub-rule (1)(b) of this Rule) may be made by way of an application for judicial review and the Court may grant the declaration or injunction claimed, if it deems it just and convenient to grant it by way of a judicial review, having regard to:
(a) the nature of the matters in respect of which relief may be granted by way of an order of mandamus, prohibition or certiorari;
(b) the nature of the persons and bodies against whom relief may be granted by way of such an order;
(c) all the circumstances of the case.

In an application for judicial review, any relief mentioned in rule 3 of this Order may be claimed as an alternative or in addition to any other relief so mentioned if it arises out of, relates to or is connected with the same matter.

(1) An application for judicial review shall be brought within three (3) months of the date of occurrence of the subject of the application and no leave of the Court shall be required for that purpose.

(2) The application shall be made by originating process.

(3) The originating process shall be served on all persons directly affected and where it relates to any proceedings before the Court or tribunal and the object of the application is either to compel the Court or tribunal or an officer

(4) Unless the Court otherwise directs there shall be at least seven (7) working days between service of the originating process and the day named therein for the hearing.

(5) An affidavit giving the names and addresses of and the place and dates of the service on all persons who have been served with the originating process shall be filed before the process is entered for hearing and where any person who ought to be served under this rule has not been served, the affidavit shall state the fact and the reason for none service. The affidavit shall be before the Court on the hearing of the process.

(6) Where on hearing of the originating process the Court is of the opinion that any person who ought to have been served has not been served, the Court may adjourn the hearing on such terms, if any, as it may direct in order that the process may be served on that person.

An interlocutory application in proceedings on any matter for judicial review may be made to the Court.

(1) On hearing of any originating process under rule 3 of this Order, any person who desires to be heard on the process, and appears to the Court to be a proper person to be heard, shall be heard notwithstanding the fact that the person has not been served.

(2) Where the relief sought is or includes an order of certiorari to remove any proceedings for the purpose of quashing them, the applicant may not question the validity of any order, warrant, committal, conviction, inquisition, or record unless the applicant has filed before the hearing of the process, a copy thereof verified by affidavit or accounts for the failure to do so to the satisfaction of the Court.

(3) Where an order of certiorari is made in any such case as is referred to in sub-rule 2 of this rule, the order shall, subject to sub-rule 4 of this rule, direct that the proceedings be quashed forthwith on their removal into Court.

(4) Where the relief sought is an order of certiorari and the Court is satisfied that there are grounds for quashing the decision to which the application relates, the Court may, in addition to quashing it remit the matter to the Court, tribunal or authority concerned with a direction to reconsider it and reach a decision in accordance with the findings of the Court.

(5) Where the relief sought is a declaration, an injunction or damages and the Court considers that it should not be granted on an application for judicial review, the Court, may, instead of refusing the application, order the proceedings to continue as if it had been commenced otherwise than by application for judicial review.

No action or proceedings shall be brought or prosecuted against any person in respect of anything done in obedience to an order of mandamus.

Where there are more than one application pending against several persons in respect of the same matter and on the same grounds, the Court may order the applications to be consolidated.

The power conferred on the Court by the Rules in this Order, to make an order of mandamus, prohibition or certiorari shall be exercised notwithstanding that the order is made against any Officer or Authority of the Federal, State or Local Government including but not limited to any Minister, Commissioner or public servant, or an agent of the Government or any other person at law who can sue or be sued.