Judicial review of administrative action : developments and contradictions

Abstract

1. Introduction: Recent developments in the area of Judicial Review under Administrative Law have occurred, which are of importance for an understanding of the subject. I shall deal with these not in a chronological order, but in order of importance. I shall also examine some contradictions, not necessarily recent, which plague the jurisprudence of the Maltese Courts on this subject. The most important development in the area of Administrative Law in the recent past, has been the debunking of the norm contained in Article 460 of Chapter 12, introduced in 1981. which stated that a plaintiff instituting a case against the Government has to present, under pain of nullity, a judicial act informing the Government of his claims, at least ten days prior to instituting action. This, of course, applied also to any judicial review against the Government under Administrative Law. [excerpt]