Positive decision on naturalisation application unaffected by judicial review proceedings

The High Court has determined that the issuance of a certificate of naturalisation to an applicant was not influenced by the filing of judicial review proceedings, and thus the applicant is not entitled to discovery for the purpose of establishing a causal link to justify a costs order in her favour. The court found that the application was processed in the ordinary way, and the timing of the decision was unrelated to the initiation of legal action. The proceedings were deemed moot as the applicant had already received a positive decision on her naturalisation application before the hearing of the leave application. The court adhered to the principle that in moot cases, each party should bear their own costs, and no exceptional circumstances were presented to justify a departure from this default rule.