PUBLIC LAW AND RESEARCH SKILLS
2022/23
Key:
A1, 2, 3, 4...: case numbers that relate to specific topics in the notes
Terminology defined at the end of each section
Case name: definitely necessary
LANDMARK CASES
*Accidentally repeated 4 in 48 & 50 – keep as is so to not make cases and their corresponding
sections incompatible
o Entick v Carrington (1765) 19 St Tr 1030 1
o Rice v Connolly [1966] 2 QB 414 2
o Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service (GCHQ) [1985] AC 374 3
o A and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56 4
o Jackson and Others v Her Majesty’s Attorney General [2005] UKHL 56 5
o R (on the application of Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] 1
All ER 593 6
o R (on the application of Miller) v Prime Minister [2019] 4 All ER 299 7
o Re Amendment of the Constitution of Canada [1981] 8
o Marbury v Madison I Cranch 103 (1803) 9
o M v Home Office and Another [1994] 1 AC 377 (HL) 10
o R v Lord Chancellor, ex parte Witham [1998] QB 575 11
o Shaw v DPP [1966] 12
o R v R [1992] 13
o R v Brown [1993] 14
o M v Home Office and Another [1994] 1 AC 377 (HL) 15
o McGonnell v UK (2000) 30 EHRR 289 16
o R (Chaytor) v AG [2010] 17
o R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2016] EWHC 2768 (Admin) 18
o Burmah Oil Company v Lord Advocate [1965] AC 75 19
o Mortensen v Peters (1906) 14 SLT 227 20
o Cheney v Conn (1968) 1 All ER 779 21
o R v Jordan [1967] Crim LR 483 22
o Ex parte Cannon Selwyn (1872) 36 J.P. 54 23
o Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway Co v Wauchope (1842) 8 CL and F 710 24
o BRB v Pickin [1974] AC 765 25
o Vauxhall Estates v Liverpool Corporation [1932] 1 KB 733 26
o Ellen Street Estates v Minister of Health [1934] 1 KB 590 27
o Thoburn v Sunderland City Council [2002] EWHC 195 (Admin) 28
o R v SS for Transport ex p. Factortame (no 2) [1991] AC 603 29
o McCann v UK (1995) 21 EHRR 97 30
o Osman v UK (1999) 29 EHRR 245 31
o Ireland v UK (1976) 2 EHRR 245 32
o Tyrer v UK (1978) 2 EHRR 1 33
o Chahal v UK (1997) 23 EHRR 643 34
o Brogan v UK (1998) 11 EHRR 117 35
o Austin v UK (2012) 55 EHRR 14 36
o V and T v UK (2000) 30 EHRR 121 37
o Airey v Ireland (1979) 2 EHRR 305 38
, o Dudgeon v UK (1981) 4 EHRR 149 39
o Smith and Grady v UK (2000) 29 EHHR 40
o Malone v UK (1984) 7 EHRR 14 41
o Hatton v UK (2003) 37 EHRR 28 42
o SAS v France (2015) 60 EHRR 11 43
o Eweida & others v UK (2013) 57 EHRR 8 44
o Sunday Times v UK (1979) 2 EHRR 245 45
o Handyside v UK (1976) EHRR 737 46
o Abdulaziz v UK (1985) EHRR 471 47
o A and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56 48
o Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza [2004] UKHL 30 49
o A and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] 50
o Al-Skeini v UK 51
o A v UK [1998] 27 ECHR 1690 52
o Hirst v UK (No. 2) [2005] ECHR 681 53
o R v A [2001] UKHL 25; Times 24th May 2001 54
o Bellinger v Bellinger [2003] UKHL 21 55
o R v SSHD ex p Anderson [2002] UKHL 46 56
o AG v Jonathan Cape [1976] QB 752 57
o Liversidge v Anderson [1942] AC 2016 58
o R v SS Home Affairs ex p Hosenball [1977] 1 WCR 766 59
o S and Marper v UK (2009) EHHR 50 60
o Osman v United Kingdom (1998) 29 EHRR 245 61
o Kahn v UK (2001) 62
o Mustapha Osman v Southwark Crown Court [1999] EWHC Admin 622 (1st July, 1999) 63
o R v Fennelly [1989] Crim LR 142 CC 64
o R v Paris, Abdullahi and Miller (1994) 65
o Gillan & Quinton v UK (2010) 66
Public Law Introduction
• Public law relates to the State and its institutions
• United Kingdom = State
• State consisting of constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
• It’s about power – who has it? How do they use it?
• Three categories of public law: constitutional law, administrative law, human rights
What is a constitution?
- The “assemblage of laws, institutions, and customs”
- A set of fundamental laws of a state by which a country is organised and governed
- Superior to all other laws of the land
- Formal document that outlines key rules
- Narrow room for interpretation
- General system which the community has agreed to be governed
- Usually made once a country gains independence
- Special legal sanctity
Purposes of a constitution:
- Prevents the abuse of power by certain organs of government
- Creation of democratic order
, - Prevention of tyranny
- Organised government
- Keeping order and preventing uncertainty
What is the law relating to the constitution?
- Identifies the sources, purposes, uses, and restraints on public power
- Concerned with the power within individual nation states
- Constitutional law legitimises and authorises the ordinary law of the land giving it validity
Constitutional law:
- Regulation of the relationship between citizen and state
- Regulation of the composition, powers, and relationship of the organs of government
Organs of state government:
- Legislature: Law making body
o Legislative power
o Made up of: The Crown, The House of Commons, and The House of Lords
- Executive: The Administration
o Formal head: the King
o Acting head: Prime Minister
o Consists of PM, Lord Chancellor (important minister with a role in protecting judicial
independence), Cabinet, local forces (army, police, etc)
- Judiciary: The Courts
o Adjudicate on disputes concerning the meaning and application of the law
o Judges swear allegiance to the King
o Independent and neutral institution
o Lots of power – constitution is unwritten; no supreme laws. Judges decide what the law
implies in any case
o HL used to be the Supreme Court – was separated and now the Supreme Court
oversees the Judiciary
o Supreme court is the highest court
o Composition:
1. The Judicial Executive Board
2. The Tribunals Judicial Executive Board
3. The Judges’ Council
4. The allocation of day-to-day responsibilities
5. The organisation of jurisdictional responsibilities
6. The Judicial Office
7. Organisation of the courts and tribunals
The Parliament:
- Supreme legislative body of the UK
- Meets at the Palace of Westminster
- Composed of:
o House of Commons (democratically elected body (Members of Parliament))
o House of Lords
o The Monarchy/ Crown
2022/23
Key:
A1, 2, 3, 4...: case numbers that relate to specific topics in the notes
Terminology defined at the end of each section
Case name: definitely necessary
LANDMARK CASES
*Accidentally repeated 4 in 48 & 50 – keep as is so to not make cases and their corresponding
sections incompatible
o Entick v Carrington (1765) 19 St Tr 1030 1
o Rice v Connolly [1966] 2 QB 414 2
o Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service (GCHQ) [1985] AC 374 3
o A and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56 4
o Jackson and Others v Her Majesty’s Attorney General [2005] UKHL 56 5
o R (on the application of Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] 1
All ER 593 6
o R (on the application of Miller) v Prime Minister [2019] 4 All ER 299 7
o Re Amendment of the Constitution of Canada [1981] 8
o Marbury v Madison I Cranch 103 (1803) 9
o M v Home Office and Another [1994] 1 AC 377 (HL) 10
o R v Lord Chancellor, ex parte Witham [1998] QB 575 11
o Shaw v DPP [1966] 12
o R v R [1992] 13
o R v Brown [1993] 14
o M v Home Office and Another [1994] 1 AC 377 (HL) 15
o McGonnell v UK (2000) 30 EHRR 289 16
o R (Chaytor) v AG [2010] 17
o R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2016] EWHC 2768 (Admin) 18
o Burmah Oil Company v Lord Advocate [1965] AC 75 19
o Mortensen v Peters (1906) 14 SLT 227 20
o Cheney v Conn (1968) 1 All ER 779 21
o R v Jordan [1967] Crim LR 483 22
o Ex parte Cannon Selwyn (1872) 36 J.P. 54 23
o Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway Co v Wauchope (1842) 8 CL and F 710 24
o BRB v Pickin [1974] AC 765 25
o Vauxhall Estates v Liverpool Corporation [1932] 1 KB 733 26
o Ellen Street Estates v Minister of Health [1934] 1 KB 590 27
o Thoburn v Sunderland City Council [2002] EWHC 195 (Admin) 28
o R v SS for Transport ex p. Factortame (no 2) [1991] AC 603 29
o McCann v UK (1995) 21 EHRR 97 30
o Osman v UK (1999) 29 EHRR 245 31
o Ireland v UK (1976) 2 EHRR 245 32
o Tyrer v UK (1978) 2 EHRR 1 33
o Chahal v UK (1997) 23 EHRR 643 34
o Brogan v UK (1998) 11 EHRR 117 35
o Austin v UK (2012) 55 EHRR 14 36
o V and T v UK (2000) 30 EHRR 121 37
o Airey v Ireland (1979) 2 EHRR 305 38
, o Dudgeon v UK (1981) 4 EHRR 149 39
o Smith and Grady v UK (2000) 29 EHHR 40
o Malone v UK (1984) 7 EHRR 14 41
o Hatton v UK (2003) 37 EHRR 28 42
o SAS v France (2015) 60 EHRR 11 43
o Eweida & others v UK (2013) 57 EHRR 8 44
o Sunday Times v UK (1979) 2 EHRR 245 45
o Handyside v UK (1976) EHRR 737 46
o Abdulaziz v UK (1985) EHRR 471 47
o A and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56 48
o Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza [2004] UKHL 30 49
o A and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] 50
o Al-Skeini v UK 51
o A v UK [1998] 27 ECHR 1690 52
o Hirst v UK (No. 2) [2005] ECHR 681 53
o R v A [2001] UKHL 25; Times 24th May 2001 54
o Bellinger v Bellinger [2003] UKHL 21 55
o R v SSHD ex p Anderson [2002] UKHL 46 56
o AG v Jonathan Cape [1976] QB 752 57
o Liversidge v Anderson [1942] AC 2016 58
o R v SS Home Affairs ex p Hosenball [1977] 1 WCR 766 59
o S and Marper v UK (2009) EHHR 50 60
o Osman v United Kingdom (1998) 29 EHRR 245 61
o Kahn v UK (2001) 62
o Mustapha Osman v Southwark Crown Court [1999] EWHC Admin 622 (1st July, 1999) 63
o R v Fennelly [1989] Crim LR 142 CC 64
o R v Paris, Abdullahi and Miller (1994) 65
o Gillan & Quinton v UK (2010) 66
Public Law Introduction
• Public law relates to the State and its institutions
• United Kingdom = State
• State consisting of constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
• It’s about power – who has it? How do they use it?
• Three categories of public law: constitutional law, administrative law, human rights
What is a constitution?
- The “assemblage of laws, institutions, and customs”
- A set of fundamental laws of a state by which a country is organised and governed
- Superior to all other laws of the land
- Formal document that outlines key rules
- Narrow room for interpretation
- General system which the community has agreed to be governed
- Usually made once a country gains independence
- Special legal sanctity
Purposes of a constitution:
- Prevents the abuse of power by certain organs of government
- Creation of democratic order
, - Prevention of tyranny
- Organised government
- Keeping order and preventing uncertainty
What is the law relating to the constitution?
- Identifies the sources, purposes, uses, and restraints on public power
- Concerned with the power within individual nation states
- Constitutional law legitimises and authorises the ordinary law of the land giving it validity
Constitutional law:
- Regulation of the relationship between citizen and state
- Regulation of the composition, powers, and relationship of the organs of government
Organs of state government:
- Legislature: Law making body
o Legislative power
o Made up of: The Crown, The House of Commons, and The House of Lords
- Executive: The Administration
o Formal head: the King
o Acting head: Prime Minister
o Consists of PM, Lord Chancellor (important minister with a role in protecting judicial
independence), Cabinet, local forces (army, police, etc)
- Judiciary: The Courts
o Adjudicate on disputes concerning the meaning and application of the law
o Judges swear allegiance to the King
o Independent and neutral institution
o Lots of power – constitution is unwritten; no supreme laws. Judges decide what the law
implies in any case
o HL used to be the Supreme Court – was separated and now the Supreme Court
oversees the Judiciary
o Supreme court is the highest court
o Composition:
1. The Judicial Executive Board
2. The Tribunals Judicial Executive Board
3. The Judges’ Council
4. The allocation of day-to-day responsibilities
5. The organisation of jurisdictional responsibilities
6. The Judicial Office
7. Organisation of the courts and tribunals
The Parliament:
- Supreme legislative body of the UK
- Meets at the Palace of Westminster
- Composed of:
o House of Commons (democratically elected body (Members of Parliament))
o House of Lords
o The Monarchy/ Crown
