UK Public Law – Comprehensive Bullet-Point Notes

Course & Instructor Overview

  • Course: COML9045 Public Law – HKU SPACE UoL LLB-CertHE Prep (2024/25)
  • Lecturer: Dr David Yuratich
    • Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Exeter
    • Email: d.a.yuratich@Exeter.ac.uk
    • Author of Public Law: Principles to Practice (OUP 2024)
  • Lecture Schedule (sample)
    • 7–12 Dec 24 – Intro, UK constitution
    • 8 Dec 24 – Separation of powers & devolution
    • 10–12 Dec 24 – Constitutional principles: parliamentary sovereignty & rule of law; the Crown; conventions
    • 14–20 Dec 24 – Judicial review (illegality, irrationality, proportionality, procedure)
    • 20 Dec 24 – Revision lecture

What Public Law Covers

  • Public law = constitutional + administrative law
    • Constitutional law: empowers/regulates executive, legislature, judiciary & sets their relationships with each other and citizens
    • Administrative law: constrains executive via judicial review etc.

Constitutions: Definitions & Formats

  • Classic definitions
    • Elliott & Thomas – “basic ground rules determining powers of government & rights of individuals”
    • Bogdanor – “rules regulating system of government & its relation to individuals”
    • Le Sueur – “most important rules about structure/powers of government & basic freedoms”
  • Typical format worldwide
    • Single written document as higher law, judicially enforceable
  • UK format
    • Uncodified (not “unwritten”): multiple sources, no higher-law status
    • Key sources: Acts of Parliament, common law, conventions, official manuals (Cabinet Manual, Ministerial Code), and guiding principles (rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty, separation of powers)
Codification vs Non-Codification: Practical Contrasts
  • USA presidential succession fixed in Constitution + statute; UK PM chosen by convention (confidence of Commons)
  • US Supreme Court can strike down statutes; UK courts cannot invalidate Acts of Parliament (may issue HRA 1998\text{HRA 1998} s4 declarations or quash delegated legislation)
  • Conventions supplement US operation (e.g.
    federal electors) but form part of UK constitution (e.g. choice of PM, ministerial resignations)

Core Constitutional Principles in the UK

1. Parliamentary Sovereignty
  • Diceyan formula: Parliament “can make/unmake any law & no body may override it”
  • Crown-in-Parliament (Commons + Lords + Monarch) enacts law
  • Parliament Acts 1911 & 1949: Commons can legislate without Lords in limited cases
  • Tomkins’ “beautiful rule”: Govt functions only with support of Parliament
  • Key Questions: self-limitation, implied repeal, constitutional statutes, manner-and-form entrenchment
2. Rule of Law
  • UNISON 2017: society governed by law; govt subject to law; access to courts essential
  • Formal vs substantive conceptions
    • Formal (Raz): prospectivity, clarity, courts, limited discretion
    • Substantive (Bingham, Dworkin, Allan): may embrace human rights, equality, justice
  • Dicey’s triad: no punishment without law, equality before law, common-law liberties
3. Separation of Powers
  • Montesquieu ideal: executive, legislature, judiciary independent to prevent tyranny
  • UK reality = fusion of executive & legislature (Westminster model)
  • 2005 Constitutional Reform Act created Supreme Court; Lord Chancellor roles split
  • Barendt: better seen as separation of functions
  • Ongoing questions: judicial independence; political vs legal constitution.
4. The Crown & Prerogative
  • Crown = multi-faceted: Monarch, government, prosecution, courts
  • Executive prerogatives (e.g. treaty-making, war, passports) vs personal/reserve powers (appoint PM, dissolve Parliament)
  • Case of Proclamations 1611: prerogative limited by law; cannot be extended (confirmed in BBC v Johns)
  • Control mechanisms
    • Statutory displacement (De Keyser 1920; Anisminic 1969)
    • Judicial review if justiciable (GCHQ 1985; Miller 2017 & 2019)
    • Political conventions (ministerial advice; war-powers votes)

Institutions & Processes

The Executive
  • Led by PM (convention: commands Commons)
  • Cabinet: up to 21 paid Secretaries of State (Ministerial & Other Salaries Act 1975)
  • Patronage & reshuffles; collective responsibility; “payroll vote”
Parliament (Legislature)
  • House of Commons: 650 MPs, first-past-the-post, debates, motions, scrutiny
  • House of Lords: ~750 peers (life, 92 hereditary, 26 bishops); revising chamber; can delay Bills; reform history (1911, 1949, 1999, 2014)
  • Legislative stages: Pre-leg consultation → 3 Readings + Committee + Report → Ping-Pong → Royal Assent
  • Delegated legislation: SIs, Orders; skeleton Bills; Henry VIII clauses (Public Law Project, Allister)
Judiciary
  • Supreme Court (since 2009) independent of Parliament
  • Judicial appointments removed from House of Lords; enhanced separation
  • Lord Chancellor now political (Justice Sec) + duty to uphold judicial independence (CRA 2005 s3)

Parliamentary Scrutiny & Political Constitution

  • Select Committees (Commons, Lords, Joint) examine departments, policies, topical crises
  • Questions, debates, motions, no-confidence votes (FTP Act 2011 repealed)
  • Backbench influence, free votes, Private Member Bills
  • Political accountability complements limited legal justiciability

Multi-Layered Government & Devolution

  • Referendums 1997 created new legislatures; no devolution in England (West Lothian question)
  • Scotland (Holyrood): 129 MSPs, reserved-powers model; indy-ref powers need s30 Order (Lord Advocate Ref 2022)
  • Wales (Senedd): evolved from executive to legislative powers; reserved model but narrower
  • Northern Ireland (Stormont): power-sharing; suspended several times; border poll provision
  • Westminster remains sovereign (AXA 2011); Sewel Convention = political not legal (Miller 2017)
  • Section 35 Scotland Act: UK SoS can block devolved Bills (Gender Recognition decision 2023)

Parliamentary Sovereignty: Nuances & Limits

  • Implied repeal (Ellen Street Estates) vs constitutional statutes (Thoburn, HS2, Allister)
  • Manner-and-form entrenchment debates (Jennings; Commonwealth cases)
  • EU membership & supremacy (Factortame; ECA 1972; Repeal via EUW Act 2018)
  • Courts’ obiter on potential common-law limits (Jackson 2005; AXA 2011; Moohan 2014)
  • Rwanda Asylum policy & Safety of Rwanda Act 2023 tested boundaries (repealed 2024)

Rule of Law in Action

  • Access to courts fee case: UNISON 2017
  • Ministerial veto on FOI quashed: Evans 2015
  • Assisted suicide & moral questions: Nicklinson 2014
  • Internal Market Bill 2020 & proposed breach of international law – political push-back

Conventions of the Constitution

  • Non-legal rules guiding actors; identified via Jennings Test (precedent, obligation, reason)
  • Examples
    • Cardinal convention: Monarch acts on ministerial advice
    • Choosing PM (confidence of Commons)
    • Ministerial & collective cabinet responsibility (Ministerial Code; Nolan principles)
    • Sewel Convention (legislative consent)
    • Parliamentary votes on military action (post-2003 developing practice)
  • Enforceability: political sanctions, not courts (Jonathan Cape; Miller 2017 confirms)

Human Rights Act 1998 & ECHR

  • Incorporates Convention rights; “bringing rights home”
  • Section 2: courts must take into account ECtHR; mirror principle (Ullah) with dialogue (Horncastle, Elan-Cane)
  • Section 3: interpret legislation compatibly “so far as possible” (Ghaidan) – cannot contradict statute’s “grain”
  • Section 4: Declaration of incompatibility – no invalidation; prompts political response (Belmarsh, Steinfeld, Mercer 2024)
  • Section 6: unlawful for public authority to breach rights; core vs hybrid authorities (Aston Cantlow)
  • Proposed reforms (Bill of Rights 2022 – now shelved): restrict s3, s2, positive obligations; Illegal Migration Act 2023 dis-applies s3

Judicial Review

Purpose
  • Uphold rule of law; ensure public bodies act intra vires; supervisory not appellate (Corner House)
Two-Stage Procedure
  1. Permission
    • Timing – within 3 months (CPR 54.5)
    • Standing – s31(3) SCA 1981\text{s31(3) SCA 1981} “sufficient interest”; liberal for public interest groups (World Development Movement) but narrower “victim” test under HRA s7
    • Amenability – body performing public function (Datafin; Beer)
  2. Merits (Grounds)
Grounds of Review (Diplock, GCHQ)
  • Illegality – misuse of power, irrelevant considerations, improper purpose, delegation (Padfield; De Keyser; Carltona)
  • Irrationality – Wednesbury unreasonableness; anxious scrutiny; super-Wednesbury (Smith; Nottinghamshire)
  • Proportionality – EU & HRA contexts; four-stage Bank Mellat test; balance & “least intrusive” (Daly; Tigere)
  • Procedural impropriety – natural justice (Ridge v Baldwin); right to be heard (Doody; Osborn); bias (Pinochet; Porter v Magill)
Ouster Clauses
  • Courts interpret narrowly to preserve review (Anisminic; Privacy International)
  • New statutory ousters: Judicial Review & Courts Act 2022 s11A (Upper Tribunal), Dissolution & Calling of Parliament Act 2022 s3

Delegated Legislation & Henry VIII Clauses

  • Need for detail; risks of over-breadth
  • Skeleton Bills; Re Allister 2023 confirms broad wording allows wide amendment
  • Courts can quash delegated legislation (unlike primary Acts)

Ethical, Philosophical & Real-World Implications

  • Democracy vs judicial oversight (Sumption in Nicklinson)
  • International law tension (Internal Market Bill; Rwanda treaty)
  • Devolution politics (indyref; NI protocol)
  • House of Lords legitimacy vs expertise
  • Rise of legal constitutionalism: courts hinting at ultimate rule-of-law limits on Parliament

Exam & Study Tips

  • Always support arguments with authority (cases, statutes, scholars)
  • Distinguish good vs bad evidence (lecture slide example)
  • Use principle-case-application structure: state rule, cite authority, apply to facts
  • Anticipate essay themes: separation of powers rigidity; political vs legal constitution; devolution complexity; sovereignty limits; rule-of-law content
  • Problem questions: identify powers, source, potential illegality/irrationality etc.; discuss remedies (quashing, declaration, damages under HRA)
  • Remember revision lectures & VLE resources for further readings