What is public law? Flashcards
What is the difference between Public Law and Private Law?
Public
- Citizen v State
- How government bodies can behave
- What duties the state has to you
- Law of government and governance
- Rellationships between different parts of the state
Private
- citizen v citizen
- contracts
- torts
Examples of Public Law
- Limits of police powers to prevent protests
- the rewanda plan in the supreme court
- David cameron return to government as unelected peer
- Suella brakeman criticizes police in newspaper column
The UK Constitution
Do not have a written and codified constitution but constiutional principles
- the UK is a constiutional monarchy as opposed to an absolute monarchy
Pillars of the constiution
Legislative supremacy
- House of Commons +
- House of Lords +
- Monarch
- has the right to make or unmake any laws that they want to
Seperation of Powers
- The division of government responsibilities into distinct branches
- the vesting of the legislative, executive and judiciary powers of government in seperate bodies
- prevents concentration of power and provides for checks and balances
The Rule of Law
Dicey
- no punishment without law (cant be punished for something that is not a crime)
- no person above the law
- constiution comes from the ordinary laws of the land
The Orthodox Views
- Maybe now better thought of as a network (halliday)
Contemporary Relevance
- The supposed reclaiming of sovereignty for Parliament and the EU referendum
- Sovereignty of Parliament vs rule of law in relation to the Rwanda scheme;
- Seperation of powers - whether the government alone or only Parliament could trigger Art 50 to leace EU;
- Rule of law re Partygate - parties in Downing Street during lockdown
What is administrative law and why does it matter?
- Most of what wr need for daily lives
- Vast number of decisions every day
- Sets out powers and duties of public bodies
- Aims to prevent arbitrary decision making
What does administrative fairness require?
A clear law that people can find;
- Clear eligibility criteria;
- An accessible application system;
- A clear timetable for how quickly a decision can be expected;
- A complaint mechanism for if the decision is delayed or otherwise not properly made;
- A review system for if the applicant thinks the decision is wrong
Administrative decisions must be:
- Lawful/legal
- Reasonable
- Procedurally fair
- if human rights are engaged they must akso be - Proportionate
Substantive Fairness
was the decision correct, when applying the facts and the law?
Procedural fairness
was the decision made according to the correct procedure?
Windrush case study
Immigration Act 2014 and 2016
Proof immigration status required to…
- rent accomodation
- hold a driving licence
- get married
- study past the age of 18
- access hea;th care other than emergency care
- have a bank account
Windrush: what’s the remedy?
- Prompt provision of the evidence that they needed to confirm the status they already had or were entitled to
- Apology
- Compensation to restore them to the position they should have been in
Compensation Scheme: prove that…
- You were in the UK before the relevant date;
- You had the right to remain in the UK throughout;
- At specific points you were not able to prove that;
- That you suffered a loss or disadvantage;
- That loss was CAUSED by the lack of proof
The process
- Apply to the Home Office
- Tier 1 review
- Tier 2 review (limited powers)
- ombudsman complaint
substantive unfairness
- unlawful
- unlawful action by Home Office
- breach of human rights
Procedural unfairness
- Home office ‘judge in own case’ unfair process
