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The failure of a public authority to take into account relevant considerations and the taking of irrelevant ones into account are grounds of judicial review in Singapore administrative law. They are regarded as forms of illegality. If, in the exercise of its discretion on a public duty, an authority takes into account considerations which the courts consider not to be proper, then in the eyes of the law it has not exercised its discretion legally. On the other hand, considerations that are relevant to a public authority's decision are of two kinds: there are mandatory relevant considerations (that is, considerations that the statute empowering the authority expressly or impliedly identifies as those that must be taken into account), and discretionary relevant considerations (those which the authority may take into account if it regards them as appropriate). If a decision-maker has determined that a particular consideration is relevant to its decision, it is entitled to attribute to it whatever weight it thinks fit, and the courts will not interfere unless it has acted in a ''Wednesbury''-unreasonable manner. This is consistent with the principle that the courts are generally only concerned with the legality of decisions and not their merits. In the United Kingdom, it has been suggested that if the court interprets a statute to impose a duty on a public authority, the resources available to the authority are irrelevant to deciding how the duty should be carried out. Conversely, if the court interprets a statute to confer a discretionary power on a public authority, then resources are a relevant consideration. Also, public authorities are not required to take into account people's fundamental rights arising under the Human Rights Act 1998 as relevant considerations before arriving at decisions. Their only responsibility is to ensure that the decision itself complies with the European Convention on Human Rights. At present, there are no Singapore cases on these issues. ==Introduction== Administrative law is the area of law concerning the control of powers exercised by the government. It functions to regulate decision-making processes by public authorities with regard to maintaining basic standards of fairness and legality.〔.〕 Administrative law in Singapore originates from and shares many similarities with administrative law in the United Kingdom. In general, claims for judicial review in administrative law fall under three broad categories – illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety. Instances of illegality fall under two main headings: whether the authority was empowered to make the decision in question, and whether it properly exercised its discretion to make that decision. Grounds for illegality under the first heading include simple ''ultra vires'', and errors as to precedent facts. The second heading includes grounds of judicial review such as making decisions on the basis of insufficient evidence or errors of material fact, failing to take into account relevant considerations and taking into account irrelevant ones, making decisions for improper purposes, fettering of discretion, and failing to fulfil legitimate expectations.〔Leyland & Anthony, "Illegality I", pp. 237–257; Leyland & Anthony, "Illegality II", pp. 258–277.〕 While a public authority may have fulfilled the legal and factual conditions required in order to properly exercise its statutory power, it may be deemed to have acted illegally if it makes its decision in a manner that contravenes administrative law rules. Under this category of judicial review, the courts' basic approach is to inquire if a decision-maker has taken into account all relevant considerations that it is required to take into account, and disregarded the irrelevant ones in making its decision. If it is satisfied that the decision-maker has done so, then the decision will stand, subject to other administrative law rules having been satisfied. The emphasis here is not on the body's decision itself, but on certain aspects of the reasoning process by which the decision was reached. Such an approach is consistent with the fundamental idea of judicial review that courts should not be concerned about the merits of a decision, but instead, only with its legality.〔Leyland & Anthony, "Illegality I", p. 247.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Relevant and irrelevant considerations in Singapore administrative law」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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