The countdown to the changes to applications for judicial review in Scotland has begun. The Lord President, Lord Gill announced in a speech in January 2015 that the introduction of a permission stage in judicial review will take effect from the start of the new legal year in September 2015. Judicial review in Scotland in its current form is not that old but there is no doubt it will be radically changed under the new Act. The two most significant changes will see the introduction of a three month time limit and a requirement for permission before a petition for judicial review can proceed to full hearing. A court can grant such permission only if it is satisfied that the applicant has sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application and that the application has a real prospect of success. It is this requirement that James Findlay will look at in more detail in this article. This article originally appeared in issue 168 of SPEL Magazine (April 2015) and is reproduced here with their kind permission. more...