R (Liberal Democrats) v ITV Broadcasting (2019)

Court: High Court

Facts: ITV, a licensed commercial television broadcaster, is required under Section 321 of the Communications Act 2003 to maintain ‘due impartiality’ in its coverage of political matters. In preparation for an upcoming election, ITV organized a televised debate featuring the leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties but excluded the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party from participating. The excluded parties sought judicial review of ITV's decision to exclude them from the debate, arguing that it violated their rights to fair representation.

Issue: Whether ITV, as a commercial broadcaster, was subject to judicial review for its decisions regarding political representation in its programming.

Held: The High Court ruled that ITV's activities were purely commercial in nature, and as such, it was not classified as a public body. Consequently, ITV’s decisions regarding the debate were not amenable to judicial review.

Key Judicial Statements: The court stated: “ITV, while bound by obligations under the Communications Act, operates as a commercial entity and is not a public authority. Its decisions, therefore, cannot be subjected to judicial review” [15].

💡 LevelupLaw: reinforces the distinction between public and private entities in the context of judicial review, clarifying that commercial broadcasters, despite certain regulatory obligations, do not fall under the purview of judicial scrutiny applicable to public bodies.