Public Law

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Identify the sources of the UK constitution and critically assess them in a comparative context
2. Identify the main institutions of the British state and explain their relative purposes, powers, and relationships (focusing on the Crown, Parliament, and the judiciary)
3. Identify the key principles of the UK constitution, particularly the rule of law and parliamentary sovereignty/supremacy, and explain why these might sometimes be incompatible
4. Explain the extent to which devolution has (or has not) changed the UK constitution
5. Explain the relationship of the UK to international law, including EU law
6. Explain the meaning and importance of human rights and the mechanisms by which they are simultaneously protected and threatened in the UK constitution
7. Explain the historical development and present operation of judicial review, and critically assess its prospects
8. Critically assess the adequacy of the UK constitution and identify and evaluate proposals for reform

Humans are free individuals, but also social creatures who rely on each other not only by choice but also by necessity. The State is an architecture of bodies designed to strike the right balance in reconciling these two apparently contradictory aspects of our common humanity. ‘Public Law’ looks at this arrangement in three ways: ‘constitutional law’ considers the relationship between the Crown and the people of the UK, and the intermediary organs of Parliament, HM Government, and the judiciary; ‘administrative law’ considers the role of the courts in ensuring that decisions are, in the broadest sense, lawful; and ‘human rights law’ considers the reason and laws for protecting fundamental aspects of ourselves. Declaring war, Brexit, and limits on our right to say what’s on our mind are representative examples of the issues we consider on this module.
The UK constitution is quite unusual, not least for not having a codified constitution, and there are regular calls to adjust it. Students on this course are particularly encouraged to develop their own carefully-reasoned thoughts about whether or not the UK requires any further reform, and if so what changes might be necessary and why.

The module is divided into three inter-dependant parts: constitutional law, administrative law, and human rights law. The syllabus for each of these is described below.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Key questions: what is the structure of the UK’s constitution, how does it work, how well does it work, and how could it work better?
- An introduction to the UK’s constitution in a comparative context
- The sources of the UK’s constitution and the distinction between its legal and political aspects
- The historical development of the UK constitution
- The role of the Crown
- The roles of Parliament, HM Government, and the judiciary
- Devolution
- The UK’s relationship with international law, including the UK’s past and present relationship to EU law
- 'Parliamentary sovereignty’, and the supremacy of ‘the Crown in Parliament’
- ‘The rule of law’
- Topical issues in focus

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Key questions: how can the judiciary review decisions by public bodies, how has this developed over the last century, and do judges do enough – or go too far – in determining the lawfulness of those decisions?
- An overview of judicial review: its theory, history, and comparisons with other jurisdictions
- The procedural requirements for judicial review
- The grounds for judicial review
- Topical issues in focus

HUMAN RIGHTS
Key questions: what are human rights, why are they important, and how are they simultaneously protected and threatened by the UK Constitution?
- An overview of the theory and history of human rights and freedoms
- The protection of human rights in international law, common law, and statute law (including the Human Rights Act 1998)
- Topic issues in focus

This module is at CQFW Level 4