High Court grants permission in significant judicial review on jurisdiction of Crown Court failure to declare a preparatory hearing

At a hearing on 4 June 2026, the High Court granted permission on a claim for judicial review of a decision by a Crown Court judge to fail to declare a preparatory hearing when deciding a question of law on dual criminality for a foreign conspiracy (section 1A of the Criminal Law Act 1977).

The claim for judicial review raises important points of law which have wider implications and have not been subject of authority, including:

• Whether a failure by a judge to declare a preparatory hearing (or likewise a decision by a judge to declare a preparatory hearing) is an act relating to jurisdiction and is reviewable by the High Court outside the scope of “matters relating to trial on indictment” under section 29 of the Senior Courts Act 1981;
• The statutory construction and/or public interest reasons for section 1A(10) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 that dual criminality or extraterritorial jurisdiction shall be treated as a question of law for the purposes of a preparatory hearing, to allow for an interlocutory appeal before trial to conclusively determine such an issue of jurisdiction;
• Alternative remedy, and whether a Claimant who is also a defendant in a criminal trial ought to await conviction and potential imprisonment before bringing an arguable claim for judicial review that affects the jurisdiction of the Crown Court.

The claim is likely to be heard by a Divisional Court before October 2026.

Edward Fitzgerald KC, Rabah Kherbane and Soraya Bauwens represent the Claimant, instructed by Karen Todner of Karen Todner Solicitors.