14. Administrative justice: tribunals, ombudsmen, and public inquiries

This chapter discusses the concept of administrative justice. The complexity and scale of modern government means that it is inevitable that sometimes things will go wrong. Public bodies make hundreds of thousands of decisions each year. Sometimes, the pressures of making thousands of decisions on finite resources mean that public bodies may not treat members of the public appropriately and not fulfil the aims of good government. When things go wrong, some will wish to challenge decisions made by the public authorities. Although such disputes are usually resolved by the courts applying the principles of judicial review, alternatives such as statutory tribunals, the ombudsman, and public inquiry provide other ways to challenge decisions made by public bodies. These three procedures form the basis of the system of administrative justice.

12. Judicial review: irrationality and proportionality

This chapter explores irrationality, the second ground for judicial review identified by Lord Diplock in Council of Civil Service Unions and Others v Minister for the Civil Service. It examines the meaning of this principle, its foundation upon the test of unreasonableness, and the approach that the courts have adopted since that case. Irrationality, and the notion of unreasonableness upon which it is based, is a particularly vague and ambiguous term, with a range of possible interpretations and meanings. This has meant that the courts have often considered judicial review claims, brought on the basis of irrationality, with varying degrees of caution, often employing the necessary tests with notable stringency. In part as a result of this, and in part also due to the increasing influence of European legal practices on the UK system, the test of proportionality has developed as a substantive ground for judicial review, often overlapping and sometimes conflicting with application of the irrationality doctrine.

5. Parliamentary sovereignty, the European Union, and Brexit

This chapter explains the process and significance of the UK’s membership in the EU and sets out the authorities underpinning the supremacy of EU law, accepted and established prior to the UK’s accession. It then explores cases—from the early 1970s to the present day—which consider the ways in which EU membership has impacted on Parliament’s sovereignty. Following this, the chapter explores the legal and political landscape of the UK’s departure from the EU. It considers the process through which Brexit is happening and the manner in which the constitution will provide the foundation for a working relationship with the EU in the future and establish a stable legal system in the UK post-Brexit, looking particularly at the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020.

15. The European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998

One of the most fundamental aspects of any constitution are the provisions and measures that protect the rights and freedoms of individuals. In the UK, rights protection is markedly different to that in America, in chief because there is no entrenched Bill of Rights. Rights protection is dominated by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), incorporated by the Human Rights Act 1998, which sets out a number of positive rights that are actionable in the UK courts This chapter discusses the ways in which these rights are protected in the UK Constitution. It discusses the courts’ historic civil liberties approach and common law protection of rights, before then examining the development, incorporation, and application of the ECHR. The chapter also explores the way in which the various sections of the Human Rights Act 1998 work to ensure appropriate enforcement and protection of rights in UK law.

6. The royal prerogative and constitutional conventions

This chapter explores the historical, legal, and political nature of the Crown and the royal prerogative. The rule of law requires that the government act according to the law, which means that the powers of the government must be derived from the law. However, within the UK Constitution, some powers of the government stem from the royal prerogative, as recognized by the common law. The concepts of the Crown and the royal prerogative mean that although the Queen is Head of State, it is generally the ministers who form the government that exercise the prerogative powers of the Crown. For this reason, many prerogative powers are often referred to as the ‘ministerial prerogatives’, and the few prerogative powers still exercised personally by the monarch, are referred to as the ‘personal prerogatives’.

16. Human rights in the UK: public order and police powers

This chapter examines the rights contained within Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of expression), Article 11 (freedom of association and assembly), Article 5 (the right to liberty), and Article 8 (the right to a private and family life). It considers the domestic application of these rights as well as the various cases in which they have been raised. In doing this, the chapter explores the balance that must be struck between certain rights on the one hand and competing interests and needs on the other. With this in mind, it focuses on two areas: first, the freedoms of association and assembly, balanced against the need to ensure public order; and secondly, the freedom of liberty and right to a fair trial, against the need to ensure that the police can carry out their functions and responsibilities appropriately.

11. Judicial review: illegality

This chapter considers ‘illegality’ as a ground of judicial review. Illegality is one of the three main grounds of judicial review as outlined by Lord Diplock in Council of Civil Service Unions & Others v Minister for the Civil Service. Broadly, the aim of this ground of judicial review is to ensure that public authorities act within the scope of their powers. This means that illegality is a wide ground of judicial review and is best considered as an umbrella term for a range of different ways in which a decision by a public authority can be challenged. A decision can be challenged under this ground of judicial review on the basis that the public authority lacks the power to make the decision in the first place, or if it does have the power, then the power has been exercised incorrectly.

10. Judicial review: access to review and remedies

This chapter provides an introduction to judicial review and its various features and requirements. It starts by exploring the meaning and purpose of judicial review, explaining the particular functions of the courts and the jurisdiction that justifies their scrutiny of administrative matters. It then sets out the legal basis for judicial review and the process through which applications proceed, which while rooted in statute, has developed incrementally through both case law and the 1998 Woolf Reforms. The chapter considers issues relating to access to review, exploring the legal requirements that must be fulfilled before an application for judicial review can be entertained by the Administrative Court. This includes a discussion of standing, which determines who can bring a claim, and consideration of the issues relating to the public law/private law divide, which concerns against whom a claim can be brought and the matter upon which that claim can be founded.

9. Devolution and local government

Devolution refers to the decentralization of power from central institutions in London to regional institutions exercising executive and legislative authority in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This chapter explores the principle of devolution, both in terms of its historical development and its constitutional importance. It discusses recent issues and debates relevant to the role that it continues to play in the UK Constitution through the established institutions in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. All this is tied together in consideration of a problem scenario which encourages discussion of the powers of the devolved institutions and their relationship with centralized authority at Westminster.

8. Parliament

This chapter discusses the functions, structure, and procedures of Parliament. Parliament’s main functions are to be the forum for debate on the main issues of the day; to represent citizens; to enact legislation; and to hold the government to account. Parliament has three elements: the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the monarch. The chapter focuses on the two Houses, often referred to as ‘chambers’. The main output of Parliament is legislation. There are two forms of legislation. Primary legislation, referred to as Acts of Parliament, which are the exercise of Parliament’s legal supremacy to change the law, either by making new law or amending or abolishing existing law. Parliament also has the power to delegate its law-making power to others, usually to the government, allowing them to make delegated legislation according to the terms set out by Parliament.