Locus Standi Rule For Judicial Review: The Current Law in The UK and Malaysia

Abstract

In an application for judicial review the court first determines whether the applicant has locus standi to bring the case to the court. If the court finds that the applicant does not have locus standi, the court will dismiss the case as frivolous and vexatious. It is important to make locus standi rule flexible. If the locus standi rule is made strict then in some cases a person whose right or interest is not adversely affected may not apply for judicial review although the person is representing other people who are adversely affected. Strict interpretation of locus standi rule bars public interest litigation in judicial review. In this paper I have examined the current locus standi rule in the UK and Malaysia, and have suggested that the locus standi rule might bemade flexible so that a public-spirited man or a representative body can have standing to apply for judicial review to protect down-trodden public interest in genuine cases.