Judicial review of administrative action in Malta

Abstract

This work covers judicial review, the power of the courts to pen any government action within the four corners of the law. It examines the development of judicial review in England in common law, its application since the late nineteenth century of this law within the Maltese legal system, and the development by the Maltese courts of the doctrine of ultra vires; the work analyses the evolution of ultra vires from a simple examination of competence and form, to a more intrusive examination of the exercise of any discretion by a public authority; including the application of novel notions of judicial review such as legitimate expectations, the extension of the reasonableness test; as well as the extension of the rules of natural justice to cover administrative acts and not only judicial or quasi-judicial ones. The work also covers the attempts made by the Executive to limit and circumscribe judicial review particularly through Act No. VIII of 1981 and the valiant attempts made by the judiciary to thwart such exclusion of scrutiny. This thesis also examines the different norms applicable to different forms of judicial review, whether of administrative acts under article 469A of the Code of Organization of Civil Procedure, judicial review of delegated legislation under the constitutional provision of the actio popularis, and the scrutiny of decisions and actions of Administrative tribunals. Proposals are set forth for reform in this area to group all judicial review under one title.