Judicial review in Scotland (and maybe England) should hopefully soon not empty your pockets.
Third party rights of appeal have never quite gone away in Scotland with the Government always conscious that although many of the changes have helped third party involvement in the planning process, there are still situations where decisions warrant challenging and in the past the cost of judicial review has been prohibitive thus acting as a check to those who would wish to take matters further. The Government is, therefore, considering introducing new rules of court for the making of Protective Expenses Orders, which will have the effect of capping the amount of legal costs that a challenger would have to pay the other side, if they lose, at £5,000. Proposals also include the introduction of a similar cap of £30,000 on the defending party's liability to pay the challenger's costs. The consultation closes on April 3, 2012.
