Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service Prerogative. Despite an extensive publicity campaign by trade unions, the government refused to reverse its decision, instead offering affected employees the choice between £1,000 and membership of a staff association or dismissal. Those employees dismissed could not rely on an industrial tribunal, as they were not covered by the relevant employment legislation. As such, the Council of Civil Service Unions decided judicial review was the only available route. The decision to ban workers at GCHQ from trade union membership had been taken following the meeting of a select group of ministers and the prime minister rather than the full Cabinet.
Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service invariable practice of the executive as forming a basis for legitimate expectation. The case also shows that national security remains a political issue and not a legal one; it is not to be determined by a court. It summarises the scope of judicial review. In "R (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 2)", heard at the House of Lords, one of the matters decided was whether or not the courts could subject Orders in Council to judicial review. The Lords unanimously agreed that although Orders in Council were defined as "primary legislation" in the Human