The limits of judicial authority

There has been a good deal of discussion of late about the notion of judicial overreach , the suggestion being that ‘judicial power’ needs to be more carefully confined than it has been in the recent past. In this talk , Mark Elliott , while acknowledging that there must be , or are , limits to judicial power , will critically examine and challenge the argument that the courts are guilty of significant overreach.

Top Public Law Cases of the Year 2016

The number and diversity of JR cases is now such that a review of the year can only hope to cover a small sample of the Administrative Court’s workload. The selection of cases here (from September 2015 to August 2016) necessarily reflects our personal choice , and no doubt there are many others that could have been included. We have each picked three cases. They are summarised in chronological order.

Public Law and Brexit

How will EU law cease to apply in the UK subsequent to ‘The Great Repeal Bill’? What are the implications for the future of law referencing EU institutions? Martin considers these and many other questions addressing to our annual conference in October 2016.

By Public Demand! Inquiries, Investigations and the Law reading list

There was so much background reading and watching referenced in our ‘By Public Demand! Inquiries , Investigations and the Law’ conference on 21st April 2016 that we asked contributors to recommend follow up reading and watching.

How to Apply for Legal Aid Funding for Judicial Review

This guide is intended for practitioners who do not apply for judicial review funding on a regular basis , or who could do with some clarification on aspects of the criteria.

Top Public Law Cases of the Year 2016 (July)

These are a set of slides to accompany a presentation by Emma Dowden-Teale , Bates Wells Braithwaite & Rhiannon Jones , Lester Morrill Solicitors for PLP’s North conferecne , 14 July 2016.

Investigating the Investigators

This paper considers the opportunities for legal redress under the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRAâ€) where police fail to carry out their investigative responsibilities. The main focus is on the claims available to victims of serious crimes against the person. However , I also examine briefly the position of those accused of crimes who experience delay in their exoneration as a result of incompetent investigation.

Public law in public spaces

In the last 20 years or so Parliament has provided a rash of purportedly civil remedies to address various types of nuisance or anti-social behaviour. This began with housing ASB injunctions under the Housing Act 1996 which were significantly extended by the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 , the ASBO of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 which whilst originally a stand alone civil remedy became most used after sentencing from criminal offences that constituted such behaviour , to follow have been gang related violence (and now drug dealing) injunctions and there have been or are a number of others such as football banning orders.

The postive duties on the state to investigate trafficking and protect victims

This presentation looks at the core duties to investigate , identify , and protect; the source of those duties; and their application in situations where the police and the Home Office are most likely to come into contact with victims – enforcement action , immigration crime raids , police stations , prisons , detention centres , screening , immigration procedures , and visa posts.

Investigating the NHS and Defending Patient Safety

Mid-Staffordshire , Morecambe Bay , Winterbourne View , Southern Health. Sadly the NHS is far from immune from preventable deaths , individual and systemic abuse , and deficient investigations into its own failings. The need for effective systems that will prevent death and serious harm , protective duties that require staff to take operational measures to protect those in their care , and robust , searching investigations into deaths and incidents of mistreatment are needed in healthcare and clinical settings now more than ever.

The Legal Basis of the Duty to Investigate (1)

The “dutyâ€ on the State to conduct an investigation into events of significant public concern or interest is not in fact a single duty , but incorporates some duties , and a wide range of powers , derived from common law , statutory and international law sources , which can often overlap in the same case. This is one of two papers by Henrietta Hill QC and Adam Straw presented as part of PLP’s ‘By Public Demand: Inquiries , Investigations and the Law confercne in April 2016.

Evidence of the Public Law Project to the Labour Review of Legal Aid

Evidence of the Public Law Project to the Labour Review of Legal Aid.We welcome the opportunity to provide written evidence to the Bach Commission. The evidence sets out our direct experience of the impact of the LASPO cuts , and the conclusions that we are able to draw from that experience.