Essential Cases: Public Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in A (and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56, House of Lords. This case concerned the Human Rights Act 1998, the willingness of the courts to engage with national security matters and, by extension, considered how key constitutional principles should shape the courts’ approach to the 1998 Act. The document also includes supporting commentary and questions from author Thomas Webb.
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A (and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56, House of Lords
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A (and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56, House of Lords
Essential Cases: Public Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in A (and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56, House of Lords. This case concerned the Human Rights Act 1998, the willingness of the courts to engage with national security matters and, by extension, considered how key constitutional principles should shape the courts’ approach to the 1998 Act. The document also includes supporting commentary and questions from author Thomas Webb.
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11. Abuse of Discretion
Sir William Wade and Christopher Forsyth
This chapter examines the sovereign principle that powers must be exercised reasonably and in good faith and on proper grounds — in other words, that they must not be abused. This is one of the twin pillars that uphold the structure of administrative law. Topics discussed include the justification for review on substantive grounds; the rule of reason; the principle of proportionality; categories of unreasonableness; mixed motives and good faith; and statutory reasonableness.
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11. Abuse of Discretion
Sir William Wade, Christopher Forsyth, and Julian Ghosh
This chapter examines the sovereign principle that powers must be exercised reasonably and in good faith and on proper grounds—in other words, that they must not be abused. This is one of the twin pillars that uphold the structure of administrative law. Topics discussed include the justification for review on substantive grounds; the rule of reason; the principle of proportionality; categories of unreasonableness; good faith; and statutory reasonableness.
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7. Abuse of Discretion I
Mark Elliott and Jason Varuhas
This chapter examines principles of administrative law which seek to prevent abuse of discretion. It first considers the notion that there is no such thing as an unfettered discretion before discussing two key principles that encourage a mode of administration which is faithful to the legislative scheme set out by Parliament: those which require decision-makers to act only on the basis of factors which are legally relevant, and those which dictate that statutory powers may be used only for the purposes for which they were created. It also explores the propriety of purpose doctrine and the relevancy doctrine, citing a number of relevant cases such as Padfield v. Minister of Agrictulture, Fisheries and Food [1968] AC 997.
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8. Abuse of Discretion II
Mark Elliott and Jason Varuhas
This chapter examines grounds of judicial review that are substantive in two senses: it reduces the range of substantive options open to a decision-maker, or it involves judicial examination of the quality of the reasons for the decision itself, rather than the quality of the process adopted by the decision-maker. The chapter first considers the doctrine of reasonableness or rationality in administrative law before discussing the doctrine of proportionality and the notion of judicial deference in relation to variable intensity review. It also explores the role of the proportionality test in English law and the question of whether English courts are heading towards jettisoning the reasonableness doctrine in favour of utilizing proportionality in all relevant cases.
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9. Accountability
This chapter turns to one of the central features of a good constitution, namely that it provides opportunities for those who exercise public power to be ‘held to account’ or ‘accountable’ for their decisions and conduct. In relation to ministers, this includes the convention of individual ministerial responsibility (ministers are answerable to Parliament) and the convention of collective responsibility (ministers cannot publicly disagree with government policy). Parliament has developed a variety of practical mechanisms for holding ministers to account, including: debates in the chamber; select committees inquiries; and parliamentary questions posed to ministers.
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3. Accountability and Parliament
This chapter discusses the interplay between accountability and Parliament. It highlights Parliament’s important role in the interaction between political and legal constitutions, and crucial constitutional functions in creating law and holding the executive to account. The chapter opens by describing the concept of parliamentary privilege, and then looks at the differences between the House of Commons and the House of Lords in terms of holding the executive to account. It also provides an overview of the role of both Houses in the legislative process before turning attention to other ways that government activity is scrutinized, such as through debates and committees.
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1. Administration and the principles of the constitution
Administrative law includes a complex variety of processes and doctrines that confer and control public power. This chapter outlines the underlying principles of administrative law. Topics discussed include the core principle of administrative law: opposition to arbitrary use of power. That principle is introduced through the story of habeas corpus from the middle ages to the twenty-first century. The constitutional principles of administrative law also include parliamentary sovereignty, the separation of powers, the rule of law, comity among constitutional authorities, accountability, and a newly emerging principle of open government. The chapter shows how the common law and legislation can achieve adherence to these principles of administrative law.
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15. Administrative Justice and Accountability
Tribunals, Ombudsmen, and Public Inquiries
This chapter focuses on key methods of administrative justice and accountability: tribunals, ombudsmen, and public inquiries. It explains that the administrative justice system refers to all the processes ensuring that public bodies make decisions lawfully, fairly, and consistently with principles of good government. Regardless of its different definitions, administrative justice ensures the fair and effective operation of public services. It sets out the function of tribunals and public inquiries in monitoring the state’s fulfillment of its responsibilities to the public, and notes that regardless of their differences, tribunals, ombudsmen, and inquiries all provide ways of holding the executive to account for their actions.
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18. Administrative Justice: Tribunals and Ombuds
This chapter considers the main ways in which disputes between individuals and public bodies are resolved outside the court system in what is widely referred to as the landscape of ‘administrative justice’. The discussions cover initial decision-making; accessing the administrative justice ‘system’; and the two pillars of administrative justice—tribunals and ombuds.
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16. Administrative Justice: Tribunals and Ombuds
This chapter considers the main ways in which disputes between individuals and public bodies are resolved outside the court system in what is widely referred to as the landscape of ‘administrative justice’. The Chapter explains the nature and importance of administrative justice, including the need to ensure good quality and just initial decision-making by public bodies; the challenges faced by those accessing the administrative justice ‘system’ to question initial decisions; and the two principal pillars of the administrative justice system tribunals and the use and role of public sector ombuds. It also contains a case study based on the Windrush scandal.
Book
Mark Elliott and Jason N. E. Varuhas
Administrative Law Text and Materials combines carefully selected extracts from key cases, articles, and other sources with detailed commentary. This book provides comprehensive coverage of the subject and brings together in one volume the best features of a textbook and a casebook. Rather than simply presenting administrative law as a straightforward body of legal rules, the text considers the subject as an expression of underlying constitutional and other policy concerns, which fundamentally shape the relationship between the citizen and the state. Topics covered include: jurisdiction, the status of unlawful administrative action, public law principles, abuses of discretion, fairness, remedies, and the liability of public authorities.
Book
Timothy Endicott
Administrative Law explains the constitutional principles of the subject and their application across the range of twenty-first-century administrative law. The focus on constitutional principles is meant to bring some order to the very diverse topics with which you need to deal if you are to understand this very complex branch of public law. The common law courts, government agencies, and Parliament have developed a wide variety of techniques for controlling the enormously diverse activities of twenty-first-century government. Underlying all that variety is a set of constitutional principles. This book uses the law of judicial review to identify and to explain these principles, and then shows how they ought to be worked out in the private law of tort and contract, in the tribunals system, and in non-judicial techniques such as investigations by ombudsmen, auditors, and other government agencies. The aim is to equip the reader to take a principled approach to the controversial problems of administrative law.
Book
William Wade and Christopher Forsyth
Wade & Forsyth's Administrative Law provides a perceptive account, and an unparalleled level of coverage, of the principles of judicial review and a sketch of the administrative arrangements of the UK. First published in 1961, Administrative Law a classic text. In the eleventh edition, the text brings its account of administrative law up to date in light of recent case law and legislation. The volume covers the following areas of administrative law: authorities and their functions; the influence of Europe; powers and jurisdiction; discretionary power; natural justice; remedies and liability; and administrative legislation and adjudication.
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10. Administrative law: judicial review
The Q&A series offers the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each chapter includes typical questions, diagram problem and essay answer plans, suggested answers, notes of caution, tips on obtaining extra marks, the key debates on each topic, and suggestions on further reading. This chapter is about judicial review. This is the means by which the citizen can use the courts to ensure that a public body obeys the law. The questions in the chapter deal with issues such as the erratic development of administrative law; the procedure to apply for judicial review; the right to apply (locus standi), procedural ultra vires; natural justice; and substantive ultra vires.
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11. Administrative law: ombudsmen, tribunals, and delegated legislation
The Q&A series offers the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each chapter includes typical questions, diagram problem and essay answer plans, suggested answers, notes of caution, tips on obtaining extra marks, the key debates on each topic, and suggestions on further reading. This chapter is about administrative law. The citizen may use judicial review in the courts to ensure that public bodies obey the law, but there are alternatives to the courts, such as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and the tribunal system. The questions here deal with issues such as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; the tribunal system; and delegated legislation such as statutory instruments.
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Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission [1969] 2 AC 147, House of Lords
Essential Cases: Public Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission [1969] 2 AC 147, House of Lords. This case note deals with how the House of Lords interpreted an ouster clause, a statutory provision which seeks to prevent judicial supervision of decisions made by subordinate decision-making bodies, and considers the wider constitutional implications of the courts’ approach to ouster clauses. The document also includes supporting commentary and questions from author Thomas Webb.
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Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission [1969] 2 AC 147, House of Lords
Essential Cases: Public Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission [1969] 2 AC 147, House of Lords. This case note deals with how the House of Lords interpreted an ouster clause, a statutory provision which seeks to prevent judicial supervision of decisions made by subordinate decision-making bodies, and considers the wider constitutional implications of the courts’ approach to ouster clauses. The document also includes supporting commentary and questions from author Thomas Webb.
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Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v Wednesbury Corporation [1948] 1 KB 223, Court of Appeal
Essential Cases: Public Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v Wednesbury Corporation [1948] 1 KB 223, Court of Appeal. This case note considers the concept of unreasonableness as articulated in Wednesbury and reflects on its relationship to that of proportionality. The document also includes supporting commentary and questions from author Thomas Webb.
