A Judicial Review is a type of high-level court proceeding where a senior judge considers the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body. In other words, Judicial Reviews are a challenge to the way in which a decision has been made, rather than the rights or wrongs of that decision. The 45-page decision can be found here.
SIPP Provider Berkeley Burke
Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) providers, Berkeley Burke argued that FOS, a Government-backed body set up to resolve complaints between financial businesses and their customers, had incorrectly applied Conduct of Business rules in a decision FOS had made against them. Berkeley Burke alleged that this could lead to a wrongful precedent being set about how much due diligence should be carried out by a SIPP provider on investment products.
FOS had originally upheld a complaint from a Mr C against Berkeley Burke for a lack of due diligence on the investment in Sustainable Agro Energy made within his SIPP, which he had been recommended to make by an unregulated introducer, in turn causing him to lose a significant amount of money.
The High Court ruled that FOS had correctly applied Conduct of Business rules in its finding against Berkeley Burke.
Berkeley Burke has confirmed they intend to appeal this decision.
