C. Subject matter of challenge
Generally speaking, an applicant can only initiate judicial review against public matters, but not matters of a purely private character. Therefore, even if the applicant intends to challenge a decision made by a public authority, some of its private functions such as commercial decisions are not governed by public law. On the other hand, if a non-governmental organization having a public duty exercises public functions, its decisions could be regulated by public law.
The Court will generally look at the function of the decision-maker (and not just its source of power) to decide whether judicial review is the appropriate mechanism, in other words, whether the decision is “amenable” to judicial review. See further the discussion by the Court of Appeal in Hong Kong Rifle Association v Hong Kong Shooting Association (No. 2) [2013] 3 HKLRD 362.
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