Aston Brooke, a solicitors in North London who specialise in judicial review, have reacted to news that new bill will make challenging unlawful government decisions more difficult.

Government plans to make it more difficult to access judicial review challenges have been defeated by a House of Lords vote on the issue for a second time.

The second defeat came after a 274 to 205 decision rejecting criminal justice and courts bill proposals and will mean that discretion is restored to British judges when handling cases.

Some are concerned over the bill. A number of human rights groups and lawyers have voiced their concern, warning that the bill could result in serious financial liabilities which would make it more difficult to challenge unlawful government decisions if passed in its unamended form.

Labour peer, Lord Beecham, said: “The government, itself a possible defendant in these cases, seeks to restrict the exercise of judicial discretion in its own interests, and on the basis of the flimsiest evidence of the abuses it affects to detect in the working of the system and the decisions of the courts.

“In the unlikely event of [Vladimir] Putin becoming aware of the government’s approach he would be lost in admiration.”

Former Conservative MP, John Selwyn Gummer, said: “Ministers ought to be embarrassed if they break the law. People will not respect the law if they think ministers have a special arrangement. If we are not here to uphold principles of this kind, then we should not be here at all.”

Aston Brooke, a legal firm operating in the London area, often share their reactions to relevant industry news, laws and research.

A spokesman for Aston Brooke said: “It seems that the government are acting very much in their own interests on this issue. Judicial review is something that has been misused in the past and we need to make sure that that doesn’t happen, that we don’t have a system which favours ministers. We need judicial review to establish to establish when the government has acted in an unlawful manner.”

Aston Brooke are based in North London and specialise in litigation, immigration, dispute resolution, employment law, family law, judicial review, tenant law and more. They have years of experience and one of the most accomplished teams in the area. Visit http://astonbrooke.co.uk/ for more information.