R v Home Secretary, ex parte Al Fayed [1998] 1 WLR 763

• This was a case where the home sec refused naturalisation of Defendant. Under s.44 of the British Nationality Act the Home Secretary was not obliged to give reasons for his decision.

• CA held that since the Home Secretary had not told Defendant of matters weighing against him and therefore gave him no chance to refute them and that s.44 did not relieve the Home Secretary of his public law duty to act fairly i.e. natural justice, judicial review would be allowed. 

Lord Woolf MR

As the minister has a discretion to give the applicant notice of an area of concern, that discretion must itself be exercised reasonably. If not to give notice would result in unfairness then the discretion can only reasonably be exercised by giving notice.