Administrative Law: Introduction

LAWS51942 Administrative Law - Introduction

• The instructor is Dr. Elodie Van der Berg, and she can be reached at [email protected].

Recommended Text

• Neil Parpworth's "Constitutional and Administrative Law," 12th edition (Oxford University Press, 2022), is recommended.

Assessments

• The module assessment consists of a 3,000-word essay covering all aspects.
• Attendance is a factor.
• There will be a formative assessment.

Topics

• Judicial Review
• Human Rights, specifically the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998

Relevant Topics from Constitutional Law Module

• Parliamentary sovereignty.
• Separation of powers.
• The rule of law.
• Public law vs. private law

Constitutional Law: Parliamentary Sovereignty

• Parliament can enact any law.
• No court or body can overrule or strike down an Act of Parliament.
• Parliament cannot bind itself.
• Parliament can legislate for any place.
• Parliament can legislate retrospectively.
• AV Dicey stated that parliamentary sovereignty means Parliament has the right to make or unmake any law, and no person or body can override or set aside Parliament's legislation.
• Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke [1969] clarified that even if doing certain things would be unconstitutional in a moral or political sense, courts will not invalidate an Act of Parliament if Parliament chooses to do them.
• In Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway Co v Wauchope (1842), Lord Campbell affirmed that courts can only verify that a bill has passed both Houses and received Royal Assent, without inquiring into the process of its introduction or passage.
• Ellen St Estates v Minister of Health [1934] confirmed Parliament can alter or repeal a previously passed Act, even through an inconsistent provision.
• Sir Ivor Jennings stated Parliamentary supremacy means that Parliament can legislate for all persons and all places.
• Burmah Oil v Lord Advocate [1965] and the War Damage Act 1965 exemplify Parliament's power to legislate retrospectively.

Constitutional Law: Separation of Powers

• It is a fundamental aspect of constitutional order in liberal democracies.
• Governmental activity must be divided into legislative, executive, and judicial functions.
• Concentrating multiple forms of governmental power in one entity can lead to tyranny.
• The three different things the concept of separation can mean:
  • The same people should not form part of more than one of the three organs of government.
  • One organ of government should not control or interfere with the work of another.
  • One organ of government should not exercise the functions of another.

Constitutional Law Module: Rule of Law

• Aristotle: “The rule of law is to be preferred to that of any individual.”
• Chief Justice Marshall in Marbury v Madison: "The government of the United States has been emphatically termed a government of laws, and not of men."
• Bradley & Ewing: "Law and order better than anarchy."
• Entick v Carrington (1765): Every invasion of private property, no matter how small, is a trespass under England's laws.
• M v Home Office [1994]: The executive obeying the law should be a necessity and not a matter of grace.
• H. Barnett: Every person is subject to the law regardless of their rank or status in society.