R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex p Fire Brigades Union [1995] 2 AC 513
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – JUDICIAL REVIEW – PREROGATIVE POWERS – CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION
Facts
When the Secretary of State for the Home Department announced his intention not to bring into force ss.108-117 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (CJA), which contained statutory provisions for a criminal injuries compensation scheme similar to the scheme which had been in force since 1964, and decided instead to introduce a new tariff scheme to replace the existing scheme, F and other bodies applied for judicial review of his decision.
Issues
Whether, in electing to introduce the non-statutory tariff scheme, the Secretary of State had acted unlawfully in breach of his duty under s.171(1) CJA to consider when to implement the relevant provisions of that Act, and in so doing had therefore abused his prerogative powers.
Decision/Outcome
The House of Lords, in dismissing both the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s appeal as well as F’s cross appeal under s.171(1), held that the Secretary of State for the Home Department had some discretion as to when to introduce the statutory scheme and was not under a legal duty to stipulate a commencement date but merely to keep the matter of the time of implementation under consideration. However, by announcing that the provisions in the Act would not now be implemented, the Secretary of State for the Home Department had acted unlawfully; the decision to introduce a new scheme, which was inconsistent with the statutory scheme, was an abuse of the prerogative power so long as the provisions of the Act remained unrepealed.
Updated 21 March 2026
This case summary remains legally accurate. R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex p Fire Brigades Union [1995] 2 AC 513 is settled law and the House of Lords’ decision has not been overruled. The case continues to be cited as an important authority on the limits of prerogative power where Parliament has legislated in an area, and on the duty to keep the question of commencement of statutory provisions under genuine consideration.
Students should note that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme has since been placed on a full statutory footing by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995, which was enacted largely in response to this litigation. The 1995 Act replaced the disputed arrangements and has itself been amended over time, with the current scheme operated by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) under successive versions of the Scheme made under that Act. These subsequent statutory developments do not affect the constitutional and administrative law principles established by the case, which remain good law.
