ABSTRACT
Justiciability is a concept which defines the judges’ view of the suitability of the subject matter to be judicially reviewed.44 There are some matters in relation to which the courts – mindful of the doctrine of separation of powers – prove to be exceedingly reluctant to review. Matters such as the exercise of prerogative power and, most importantly, issues of national security, and matters of high policy, the courts may regard as non-justiciable. However the courts will not decline to review a matter simply because the source of the power exercised is the royal prerogative. The House of Lords made it clear in Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for Civil Service (1985) that the source of the power was not determinative of whether the courts would review, but rather whether the subject matter of the application was justiciable or not.45
