What happened
A court applied a balancing approach in matters involving retrospective authorisations. The court avoided blanket regularisation, but it recognised limited situations where retrospective outcomes may be permitted if both public interest and legality conditions are satisfied.
Background and earlier position
Retrospective authorisations are administrative or legal permissions that produce effects for an earlier period. Courts treat such outcomes cautiously in judicial review because they can disturb legal certainty and fairness by changing legal consequences after the fact.
What changed now
The court’s balancing approach links two ideas: (1) courts should not grant blanket regularisation, and (2) courts may still permit retrospective outcomes only when public interest and legality checks are satisfied.
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