United Kingdom administrative law

United Kingdom administrative law is a branch of UK public law concerned with the composition, procedures, powers, duties, rights and liabilities of public bodies that administer public policies.^[1][2] The general principle is that a public official, or an "administrator must act fairly, reasonably and according to the law. That is the essence and the rest is mainly machinery."^[3]

History

• R v Glamorganshire Inhabitants (1700) 1 Ld Raym 580, review of rates levied by county justices to pay for bridge repairs
• Local authorities
• Poor Law guardians, public health boards, School Boards
• Indian Councils Act 1909
• Board of Education v Rice [1911] AC 179
• Local Government Board v Arlidge [1915] AC 120
• Moss Empires Ltd v Glasgow Assessor 1917 SC (HL)
• (1927) Cmd 2842
• Ridge v Baldwin [1964] AC 40, 72, Lord Reid, "We do not have a developed system of administrative law - perhaps because until fairly recently we did not need it".
• Re Racal Communications Ltd [1981] AC 374, 382, Lord Diplock, the creation of "a rational and comprehensive system of administrative law" was "the greatest achievement of the English courts" in his judicial career.
• R. v. North and East Devon Health Authority [1999], held that a disabled woman told by a health authority she would have a "home for life" in a facility had a substantive legitimate expectation the authority would not shut it down.

Delegated legislation

• Statutory Instrument
• Henry VIII clause

Freedom of Information

Administrative justice

Tribunals

The tribunal system of the United Kingdom is part the national system of administrative justice with tribunals classed as non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs)

• Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
• Leggatt Review

Public Inquiries

• Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921
• Inquiries Act 2005

Ombudsmen

In the United Kingdom a post of Ombudsman is attached to the Westminster Parliament with additional posts at the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and other government institutions. The Ombudsman's role is to investigate complaints of maladministration.

Judicial review

Judicial review is a procedure in English law whereby courts supervise the exercise of power, often of a public body. A person who feels that an exercise power is unlawful may apply to the Administrative Court (a division of the High Court) for judicial review of a decision. If the court finds the decision unlawful it may have it set aside (quashed) and possibly award damages. A court may impose an injunction upon the public body.

When creating a public body, legislation will often define duties, limits of power, and prescribe the reasoning a body must use to make decisions. These provisions provide a means for a decision to be found unlawful. Alternatively, the UK Government has accepted the European Convention of Human Rights and stated that all law must be consistent with it.

Unlike the United States and some other jurisdictions, English law does not permit judicial review of primary legislation (laws passed by Parliament), except in a few cases where primary legislation is contrary to EU law or the European Convention of Human Rights. A person wronged by an Act of Parliament therefore cannot apply for judicial review unless this is the case, but may still argue that a body did not follow the Government's act.

Liability

See also

• Constitution of the United Kingdom
• Scots administrative law

Notes

References

• KD Ewing and AW Bradley, Constitutional and Administrative Law (2011) chs 27 to 32
• FW Maitland, Constitutional History, 501
• AV Dicey, The Law of the Constitution, app 2
• Lord Chief Justice Hewart, The New Despotism (1929)