Protecting The Interests of Bidders for Public Contracts; The Role of the Common Law

1994 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-139
Author(s):  
Sue Arrowsmith

In the United Kingdom there has traditionally been little litigation over the award of public contracts. This is largely due to the absence, in the past, of formal rules regulating contract procedures, which might have founded a basis for legal actions. It is also to some extent a product of the reluctance of contractors to “bite the hand that feeds” and jeopardise their chances of future contracts; this factor may have discouraged contractors from taking advantage of the potentiality of common law doctrines for providing protection for bidders in the tendering process.

1995 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-564
Author(s):  
Dawn Oliver

First, I want to express my gratitude and sense of honour in being invited to deliver the Lionel Cohen lecture for 1995. The relationship between the Israeli and the British legal systems is a close and mutually beneficial one, and we in Britain in particular owe large debts to the legal community in Israel. This is especially the case in my field, public law, where distinguished academics have enriched our academic literature, notably Justice Zamir, whose work on the declaratory judgment has been so influential. Israeli courts, too, have made major contributions to the development of the common law generally and judicial review very notably.In this lecture I want to discuss the process of constitutional reform in the United Kingdom, and to explore some of the difficulties that lie in the way of reform. Some quite radical reforms to our system of government — the introduction of executive agencies in the British civil service, for instance—have been introduced without resort to legislation. There has been a spate of reform to local government and the National Health Service.


1902 ◽  
Vol 36 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 417-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Nicoll

The liability of the employer to compensate his employees, as well as other persons, for injuries sustained through his fault, may be traced from an early period in the world's history in the Common Law of various countries.For example, by the Jewish Law, said to have been promulgated about the year 1500 B.C., if a master were the means of causing the loss, either intentionally or unintentionally, of the eye or of the tooth of his slave, he was bound to let him go free for his eye or his tooth's sake. Again, according to the same law, if an employer allowed his ox to gore either his servant or a stranger, he was required to pay various compensations to the injured if he survived, or to his relatives in the event of the injury being followed by death.


1999 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 307-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Bryan ◽  
Peter Rowe

With the passing into law of the War Crimes Act of 1991, the United Kingdom joined common law states such as Canada and Australia in conferring upon its domestic courts jurisdiction to try individuals suspected of having committed war crimes in Europe during the Second World War. Under the 1991 Act, proceedings for murder, manslaughter or culpable homicide may be brought, with the consent of the Attorney-General, against any person who, on 8 March 1990 or later, became a British citizen or resident in the United Kingdom, providing that the offence charged is alleged to have been committed between 1 September 1939 and 4 June 1945 in a place which was, at the material time, part of Germany or under German occupation. The Act further provides that the offence charged must have constituted a violation of the laws and customs of war under international law at the time it was committed. In addition, the Act stipulates that the nationality of the alleged offender at the time the alleged offence was committed is immaterial.


1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-248 ◽  
Author(s):  

AbstractWithin the common law world, the use of the term informed consent implies the American doctrine. Informed consent as a doctrine is not part of the law in the United Kingdom. However, it is possible to predict a way forward in disclosure cases yet to be heard in the courts of the United Kingdom. These predictions are based on current developments in the common law in the United Kingdom as well as those in Canada and Australia, on the European convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine and on trends within the medical profession itself in the light of the Bolam test.


2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier García Oliva

The enactment of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 is the most recent legal mechanism developed to protect believers, beliefs and religious feelings in the United Kingdom. Despite the recognition of a certain degree of overlap between the different categories, this article proposes a broad distinction between legal devices which protect believers and those which safeguard beliefs and religious feelings. The common law offence of blasphemy is analysed, taking into consideration the response of both the UK courts and the European Court of Human Rights. The endorsement of the English law of blasphemy by Strasbourg is particularly relevant. Furthermore, this paper focuses on different instruments that, throughout the last few decades, have been articulated to protect the faithful, such as the crimes of religiously aggravated offences and the offence of incitement to religious hatred.


1975 ◽  
Vol 19 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 52-65
Author(s):  
Margaret Rogers

It is perhaps desirable to start off by reminding ourselves as to what generally is the law which is applicable to bankers in Kenya. We know that the sources of Kenya law as set out in the Judicature Act, 19671 are:“;(a) the Constitution;(b) subject thereto, all other written laws, including the Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom, cited in Part I of the Schedule to this Act, modified in accordance with Part II of that Schedule;(c) subject thereto and so far as the same do not extend or apply, the substance of the common law, the doctrines of equity and the statutes of general application in force in England on the 12th August, 1897, and the procedure and practice observed in courts of justice in England at that date:…”;


Author(s):  
Paul Omar

Malaysia and Singapore are members of the common law family and have 'inherited' their company and insolvency law from models in use in the United Kingdom with influences from Australia. It is the purpose of this article to outline the law in relation to cross-border insolvency, particularly the winding up of foreign companies, the co-operation provisions in bankruptcy and insolvency as well as more recent moves to redevelop insolvency through UNCITRAL and Asian Development Bank initiatives.


2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-189
Author(s):  
Adrienne Ho

Whether a debtor is an individual or a sophisticated financial institution, a common issue that arises is whether its insolvency alters the rights of the parties with whom the debtor has entered into contracts. Could the non-defaulting party to the contract, on the basis of the debtor’s insolvency, terminate or amend the contract? Could it demand accelerated payment? Many parties preserve contractual rights, through what are commonly known as ipso facto clauses, to terminate and amend contracts or to demand an accelerated payment in the event that a counterparty to the contract becomes insolvent. Despite recent amendments to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), the validity of ipso facto clauses, outside the context of derivatives contracts, is an issue that has not been thoroughly addressed in the Canadian literature. This article will trace the anti-deprivation rule in England, culminating in the United Kingdom Supreme Court’s leading case: Belmont Park Investments PTY Ltd. v. BNY Corporate Trustee Services Ltd. and Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc. It will then explore to what extent recent amendments to the BIA and the CCAA have displaced the common law rule in Canada. Both the BIA and the CCAA have nullified ipso facto clauses in some but not all situations, the most notable exceptions being cases involving corporate bankruptcies and receiverships. This article will conclude with a discussion of the codified exceptions to the common law principles and whether the Canadian jurisprudence might incorporate some of the modifications to the anti-deprivation rule introduced by Lord Collins in Belmont.


Obiter ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eesa A Fredericks

This series of two articles provides a comparative overview of the position in the common-law conflict of laws in respect of the contractual capacity of natural persons. The comparative study is undertaken in order to provide guidelines for the future development of South African private international law. Reference is primarily made to case law and the opinions of academic authors. The legal position in the law of the United Kingdom, as the mother jurisdiction in Europe, is investigated in part I. Although Scotland is a mixed civil/common-law jurisdiction, the situation in that part of the United Kingdom is also discussed.Part II will deal with the rules and principles of private international law in respect of contractual capacity in Australasia (Australia and New Zealand), North America (the common-law provinces of Canada and the United States of America), Asia (India, Malaysia and Singapore) and Africa (Ghana and Nigeria). Part II also contains a comprehensive summary of the legal position in the common-law countries, followed by ideas for the reform of South African private international law in this regard.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-74
Author(s):  
Richard Kirkham ◽  
Anita Stuhmcke

In both Australia and the United Kingdom, the ombudsman sector plays a specific role in the oversight of the administration of government, but there exists no clear overarching theoretical framework within which the institution is aligned with common law constitutionalism. An ombudsman’s functionality is secured by gaining legal authority from parliament and effective power through executive acquiescence, but simultaneously to function effectively it must maintain a degree of separation from the executive and parliament. This situation creates a regulatory gap which the courts fill by acting in a supervisory relationship over the ombudsman sector. In turn, this raises the danger that the legitimacy gained through judicial oversight results in a loss of flexibility and uniqueness in the ombudsman institution. Through an empirical study of the case law on the sector, this article confirms that the courts have shaped and legitimised the role of the ombudsman institution under the common law constitution. Yet this study also suggests that there is a risk that over-reliance upon the judiciary to perform a retrospective, reactive and intermittent control function can lead to an inappropriate imposition of judicial values on the ombudsman sector as well as the courts performing an unsuited regulatory role.


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