This module analyses governance in context in the . Understanding public authority and protections against its abuse is the primary objective of the module.  Comparisons are made with other constitutional and administrative systems.  Public institutions at European, national, devolved and local levels are explained.   The relationships between the legislative, executive and judicial authority are examined.  Civil liberties, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 are discussed. The module considers the tension between governance and individual rights. The ethical values, philosophical principles and practical implications relating to this tension will be explored.

Understanding public authority and protections against its abuse is the primary objective of the module. Judicial review and the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 are dealt with in depth.  The module considers the tension between balancing efficient administration and safeguarding individual rights. The ethical values, philosophical principles and practical implications relating to this tension will be explored.

1. The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the constitution and the various contexts in which it operates. Students address such questions as:
2. Where does power lie in the constitution?
3. Who has ultimate constitutional power?
4. What is the relationship between and EC law?
5. What principles govern the ?
6. What is the relationship between the state and the individual in the ?
7. Who can correct a badly made decision on the part of an authority that affects an individual?
8. How are civil liberties and human rights protected in the ?
9. What role should judges play in upholding the constitution?
10. What are the issues influencing the development of Public Law in the ?

At the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a good understanding of the nature, sources and operation of the constitution
• Demonstrate a good knowledge of the doctrines and concepts which inform an understanding of the constitution
• Compare and contrast the ’s constitution with the constitutions of selected comparative jurisdictions
• Identify and the main organs of government in the and examine critically the relationships between them
• Analyse the impact of membership of the European Union on the ’s legal system
• Identify the sources and content of civil and human rights in law
• Analyse the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998
• Identify court structures and procedures relating to administrative law
• Identify the limits of judicial control of the executive
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of the difference between public and private law decisions
• Evaluate critically the concept of illegality in decision making
• Evaluate critically the concept of unreasonableness in decision making
• Evaluate critically the concept of proportionality in decision making
• Apply the principles of natural justice to decisions made by public bodies
• Apply acquired knowledge to problems and issues
• Apply constitutional theories and principles to substantive issues
• Undertake legal research to locate and deploy relevant materials

• Sources of Constitutional Law
• Parliamentary Sovereignty
• The Rule of Law
• The Separation of Powers
• The Royal Prerogative
• Constitutional Conventions
• The European Union
• The Supremacy of EU Law
• The European Convention on Human Rights
• The Human Rights Act 1998
• The Concept of a Public Body
• Grounds of Review: Illegality, Irrationality, Procedural Impropriety, Proportionality
• Natural Justice
• Public and Private Law Distinctions
• Access to Justice in the Administrative Court

• Run once, throughout the year
• 2½ hours per week (1 two-hour lecture weekly and one seminar fortnightly)

 Recommended Purchase

Loveland, I. , Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights: A Critical Introduction (2006) 4^th Edition

Wallington & Lee Blackstone’s Statutes on Public Law and Human Rights 2008 ( Oxford : OUP, 2008)

Other Selected Texts

Barendt, E., Introduction to Constitutional Law (Oxford: OUP, 1998)

Douglas-Scott, S., Constitutional Law of the European Union ( Harlow : Pearson, 2002)

Jowell, J., and Oliver, D., The Changing Constitution ( Oxford : OUP, 2004) 5^th Ed.

Munro, C., Studies in Constitutional Law (London: Butterworths, 2^nd Edition, 1999)

Bagehot, W., The English Constitution (London: Collins, 1963), with introduction by RHS Crossman

Blackburn , R., and Plant, R., Constitutional Reform (London: Longmans, 1999)

Brazier, R., Constitutional Practice (Oxford: OUP, 1994) 2^nd Ed.

Dicey, A.V., Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (London: Macmillan, 1959) 10^th Ed., with introduction. by E.C.S. Wade

Hailsham of St Marylebone, Quintin Hogg, On the Constitution (London: HarperCollins, 1992)

Jennings, I. , Law and the Constitution (London: University of London Press, 1959) 5th Ed.

Riddell, P., Parliament under Pressure (London: Gollancz, 1997)

Bradley, A.W., and Ewing, K.D., Constitutional and Administrative Law ( Harlow : Person, 2007) 14^th Ed.

Jackson, P., and Leopold, P., O. Hood Phillips and Jackson, Constitutional and Administrative Law ( London : Sweet & Maxwell, 2001) 8^th Ed.

Pollard, D., Parpworth, N., and Hughes, D. Constitutional and Administrative Law, Text and Materials ( London : Butterworths, 2007) 4^th Ed

Turpin, C., British Government and the Constitution, Text, Cases and Materials (London: Butterworths, 1999) 4^th Ed.

Craig, P. P. , Administrative Law (London, Sweet & Maxwell, 1999) 4^th Ed

Elliott, M., Beatson, Matthews and Elliott’s Administrative Law, Text and Materials ( Oxford : OUP, 2005) 3^rd Ed 

Harlow , C., and Rawlings, R., Law and Administration (Butterworths: 1998), 2^nd Ed

Oliver, D., Constitutional Reform in the ( Oxford : OUP) 2003

Woolf, H., Jowell, J., and Le Sueur, A., De Smith, Woolf & Jowell’s Principles of Judicial Review (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1999)  

Periodicals

Appeal Cases (AC)  
All Law Reports (All ER) 
Cambridge Law Journal (CLJ) 
Civil Justice Quarterly (CJQ) 
Common Market Law Reports (CMLR) 
European Court Reports (ECR)
European Human Rights Law Review (EHRLR) 
European Human Rights Reports (EHRR) 
European Public Law (EPL) 
Law Quarterly Review (LQR) 
Legal Studies (LS) 
Modern Law Review (MLR) 
Oxford Journal of Legal Studies (OJLS) 
Public Law (PL) 
Weekly Law Reports (WLR)