R (on the application of Paradise) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Respondent)

Permission to Appeal application lodged

Case summary
Permission to Appeal
Previous proceedings

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2025/0121

Parties

Appellant(s)

Stephen Samuel Paradise

Respondent(s)

Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs

Issue

(1) Should the Administrative Court have held an oral hearing to reconsider the decision of an Administrative Court Officer Lawyer made on the papers to refuse the appellant’s application to expedite his judicial review claim? (2) Did the Court of Appeal have jurisdiction to hear the appellant’s appeal against the Administrative Court’s failure to list an oral hearing?

Facts

The appellant applied to expedite his ongoing judicial review proceedings against the Secretary of State. The application was refused following consideration of the papers by an Administrative Court Office Lawyer on 29 May 2025. The appellant submitted an application for reconsideration in which he requested that his application for expedition be reconsidered at an oral hearing before a High Court judge under Civil Procedure Rules 54.1A(5) and (6). It appears that this request was not processed by the Administrative Court because the appellant failed to use the correct application form and did not pay the relevant application fee. The appellant sought to appeal the Administrative Court’s failure to list an oral hearing to the Court of Appeal. In an email dated 27 June 2025, Master Bancroft-Rimmer informed the appellant that the Court of Appeal did not have jurisdiction to consider the appeal because it did not challenge any judgment or order of the High Court. This conclusion was affirmed by Dingemans LJ in an email dated 2 July 2025. The appellant now appeals to the Supreme Court. The appeal does not concern the appellant’s substantive claim for judicial review. The appellant’s application to the Supreme Court was filed on 9 July 2025. Since then, following an oral hearing on 28 August 2025, Sweeting J upheld the order of 29 May refusing the appellant’s request for expedition.