West v Secretary of State for Scotland
West v Secretary of State for Scotland 1992 SC 385 (IH), 1992 SLT 636, (also reported as West v Scottish Prison Service, 1992 SCLR 504) is the leading case on judicial review in Scotland and sets out in detail the present law. It sets a contrast to the position on judicial review in English law. The petitioner complained that on being moved from his employment at one prison to another, he had been told that his moving expenses would be paid, but that they were not. The respondent said that the terms of his employment were that he was to be mobile, and that as a Crown employee his terms of employment were variable at the instance of the crown. Held: Wherever there is an excess or abuse of the power or jurisdiction which has been conferred on a decision-maker, the Court of Session has the power to correct it. Judgment The Court of Session held that does not require that the decision complained should have any public law element in order to be reviewable: … the Court of Session has power, in the exercise of its supervisory jurisdiction, to regulate the process by which decisions are taken by any