The Case

As an administrative determination of an application for planning permission engaged art6 in respect of the property rights of the applicant for the planning permission in question, there was no reason in principle why that same administrative process should not also engage art6 in respect of the property rights of a third party, who objected to the grant of the planning permission in question, provided that third party's property rights were directly affected. Although the safeguards of the quasi-judicial process of a public inquiry before an independent inspector might well be needed if the High Court's power of review was to be sufficient for the purposes of art6 where the administrative decision-maker was required to make findings of primary and immediate fact, there was no absolute rule of law to that effect.