Staff responsible Ryan Hawthorne
The appeal involved a number of significant legal and procedural issues. It is the first case in Bermuda to consider when the Court of Appeal can reopen a previous final determination of an appeal. The Court of Appeal also considered: (a) the proper principles to be applied when a decision to deny leave to bring judicial review proceedings is based on a lack of promptness; (b) when a public interest litigant should be granted standing to bring judicial review proceedings; and (c) the meaning of ultra vires in the context of a failure to act rather than exceeding powers to act.
Case outcome
The Court of Appeal (judgment given by Sir Christopher Clarke P) dismissed the appeal holding that : (a) the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction to reopen a final determination of an appeal could only be exercised in exceptional circumstances; (b) the circumstances in which the Court of Appeal can overturn a decision that judicial review proceedings had not be filed promptly were limited (although the Court of Appeal did extend time); and (c) held that misdirection or a wrong decision was not sufficient to constitute ultra vires provided there was no decision to reduce the scope or go beyond the Commissions in its terms of reference.