23 November 2023
A Plethora of Public Inquiries
This article was first published by New Law Journal on 4th August.
31 August 2023
Legislating badly?
Measures introduced in the Queen’s Speech risk fuelling legislative bad habits.
24 August 2023
Who makes UK law?
Is the current approach to delegated legislation undermining the constitutional balance between executive & legislature?
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Today, most UK laws are made by government ministers with little parliamentary involvement, risking potentially serious consequences.
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Tighter control over the use of delegated legislation is now required. A better system of scrutiny needs to be introduced. A reassertion of the boundary line between primary and delegated legislation is also called for.
18 August 2023
Lunges, parries & the ouster clause
Ouster clauses are provisions inserted into legislation to prevent judicial review challenges that target particular decisions by public bodies. They exclude the common law supervisory jurisdiction of the courts. The basis for them is that, under our constitution, Acts of Parliament are supreme and Parliament can curtail the jurisdiction of the courts if it so chooses.