Section 31(2A) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (as inserted by the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015) requires judges to refuse relief in judicial review of administrative decisions if it is ‘highly likely’ that the conduct complained of did not make a significant difference to the outcome of the decision. The strongest justification for this ‘Makes No Difference’ principle is provided by a ‘narrow instrumental view’ of fair procedures, according to which their value lies only in their producing the correct outcome. This conception of procedural fairness, however, is impoverished and flawed as a matter of political morality. Fair procedures reflect a conception of citizens as participants in their own governance and play an important communicative role in democratic legal orders. Inasmuch as it leaves no room for these aspects of the value of fair procedures, the Makes No Difference principle embodied in section 31(2A) is pro tanto unjust.

中文翻译：

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为什么公平的程序总是会有所作为

1981年《高等法院法》第31（2A）条（由2015年《刑事司法和法院法》插入）要求法官在“极有可能”抱怨的行为没有做出司法裁决的情况下拒绝对行政决定进行司法复审的救济。决定结果的重大差异。公正程序的“狭instrument工具观”提供了这种“不产生差异”原则的最有力依据，根据这些观点，公正程序的价值仅在于产生正确的结果。然而，就政治道德而言，这种程序公正性的概念是贫穷的和有缺陷的。公平的程序反映了公民作为其自身治理参与者的观念，并在民主法律秩序中发挥重要的沟通作用。亲坦托不公正。