ABSTRACT
In Cannock Chase District Council v Kelly (1978), Megaw LJ cited Lord Greene in Wednesbury: ‘... bad faith, dishonesty – those of course stand by themselves.’ Megaw LJ went on to say that:
... bad faith or, as it is sometimes put, ‘lack of good faith’, means dishonesty; not necessarily for a financial motive, but still dishonesty. It always involves a grave charge. It must not be treated as a synonym for an honest, though mistaken, taking into consideration of a factor which is in law irrelevant ... [p 6]
To some extent, any decision which is ultra vires may involve ‘bad faith’ whenever there has been a failure to decide a case in the manner required by law. Some decisions however, may have inadvertently breached the requirements of legality, whereas others will reveal an improper motive and unreasonableness, and more clearly demonstrate that the decision maker acted in ‘bad faith’.
