16 December 2010
R (on the application of Woolas) v The Parliamentary Election Court [2010] EWHC 3169 (Admin), [2010] All ER (D) 60 (Dec)
The Administrative Court, sitting as a Divisional Court, had jurisdiction to consider the interpretation of s 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. The scope of review was not confined to an excess of jurisdiction in the narrow sense, but extended to correcting errors made in the law it had to apply.
In deciding an issue under s 106, the court had to decide whether the statement in question was one as to the personal character or conduct or a statement as to the political position or character of the candidate. It could not be both.
