Dominic Raab

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) paper details changes that would limit the accountability of ministers in judicial reviews.

The MoJ document states: “You (DPM [deputy prime minister]) have indicated that you are minded to consult on further reforms to judicial review”.

It then suggests a change “subject to your initial policy steers and the outcome of any consultation” — which experts told The Guardian would raise the bar for bringing a judicial review.

Charlie Whelton, policy and campaigns officer at Liberty, said: “This leaked document suggests that the government plans to make it even harder for people to challenge them and make themselves even less accountable to the public.

“Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen an unprecedented assault on our legal rights, including in the Judicial Review and Courts Act and through ongoing proposals to scrap the Human Rights Act. The government is determined to make it as difficult as possible to take them to court and hold them accountable for unlawful actions.

“Whether by putting up more barriers to bringing cases, overturning judgments they don’t like or blocking off more and more actions from challenge, the government’s attempts to avoid accountability set a very dangerous precedent for all future governments of all stripes.”

The document refers to altering cost rules on “standing”, which requires the claimant to have “sufficient interest” in order to bring a case. An increase in the cost burden may be intended to deter potential applicants, such as NGOs.

Jolyon Maugham QC, the director of the Good Law Project, said: “We already have laws to prevent cases that lack merit. And the efficacy of judicial review as a tool for inhibiting the law-breaking of ministers is already under grave pressure.

“These measures are designed to repel the tiny rump of cases that can nevertheless succeed. What Raab seems to want is a world in which the government is above the law.”