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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7. Abuse of Discretion I
Mark Elliott and Jason Varuhas
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29. Variation of beneficial interests
This chapter considers the variation of beneficial interests. One route is for a trust to include provisions which allow the terms of the trust to be varied by the settlor, or by the trustees, or by a protector, in each case, with or without a requirement of consent by someone else. Variation by the beneficiaries is also explored, as is the surrender of a beneficial interest, the release of a power, the statutory powers of variation, and inherent court powers. The chapter next turns to consensual variation and variation under the inherent jurisdiction of the court. Miscellaneous statutory powers are also discussed. Finally, the chapter gives an overview of the Variation of Trusts Act 1958.
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10. An Introduction to Judicial Review
This chapter provides an overview of judicial review. Judicial review is a court process that allows claimants to challenge the legality of decisions, or proposed decisions, taken by public bodies. Moreover, judicial review supports a range of constitutional law principles while protecting the rule of law and ensuring statutory powers are used according to Parliament’s intentions. The chapter details the permission stage in non-Human Rights Act 1998 cases, before outlining the criteria for judicial review applications that do fall under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
