The underlying principle is that a public authority’s objective should not be to win the case at all costs, but to assist the court in its role of ensuring the lawfulness of the decision under challenge, with a view to upholding the rule of law and improving standards in public administration. It must therefore fairly and fully disclose all relevant information, including that which is harmful to its own case. See R v Lancashire County Council, ex parte Huddleston [1986] 2 All ER 941 at 945.

This is from PLP’s Judicial Review Trends and Forecasts conference 2017.

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