Wednesbury unreasonableness is a term that is used to refer to the principle enunciated in the British case of Associated Provincial Picture Houses v. Wednesbury Corporation [ 1948 ] 1 KB 223 — courts will not intervene to correct a bad administrative decision on grounds of unreasonableness, unless such decision is extremely unreasonable. 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ...
Facts of the case
"Associated Provincial Picture Houses" were granted a licence by the defendant local authority to operate a cinema if no children under 15 were admitted to the cinema. The claimants sought a declaration that such a condition was unacceptable, and outside the power of the Wednesbury Corporation to impose. The court held that for it to intervene and overturn the decision of the defendant corporation, the condition would have to be so unreasonable that no reasonable authority would ever consider imposing it. The court held that such a condition did not fall into the category of being so unreasonable that it would not be reasonably considered by such a public authority. Therefore, the claim failed and the decision of the Wednesbury Corporation was upheld.
Use of this case
This case or the principle known as "Wednesbury unreasonableness" are cited in British courts as a reason for courts to be hesitant to interfere into the decisions of administrative law bodies. Administrative law is the body of law that arises from the activities of administrative agencies of government. ...
Wednesburyunreasonableness is a term that is used to refer to the principle enunciated in the British case of Associated Provincial Picture Houses v.
Wednesbury Corporation [ 1948 ] 1 KB 223 — courts will not intervene to correct a bad administrative decision on grounds of unreasonableness, unless such decision is extremely unreasonable.
This case or the principle known as "Wednesburyunreasonableness" are cited in British courts as a reason for courts to be hesitant to interfere into the decisions of administrative law bodies.
Patently unreasonable or the patent unreasonableness test is a legal test created by common law and used in Canada by a court performing judicial review of administrative decisions.
Although the term "patent unreasonableness" lacks a precise definition in the common law, it is somewhere above unreasonableness, and consequently it is difficult to prove that a decision is patently unreasonable.
A simple example of a patently unreasonable decision may be one that does not accord at all with the facts or law before it, or one that completely misstates a legal test.
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