Articles tagged as Public Law
Latest Law Papers tagged as Public Law
Including law essays, dissertations, problem questions, case summaries, and law lectures, suitable for law students working towards their LLB / LLM qualifications or those studying for the new SQE.
R (G and M) v Immigration Appeal Tribunal [2004] EWCA Civ 1731
Case Summaries
Judicial review was refused where statutory review offered adequate protection, but remained available in principle for errors outside that procedure. ...
Last modified: 5th Nov 2026
R (Abbasi) v Foreign Secretary [2002] EWCA Civ 1598
Case Summaries
The Court of Appeal rejected an order compelling diplomatic action, while recognising a limited expectation that a British citizen’s request for assistance would be considered. ...
Last modified: 5th Nov 2026
R (Whiston) v Secretary of State for Justice [2014] UKSC 39
Case Summaries
The Supreme Court dismissed Whiston’s challenge to recall from home detention curfew, while Lady Hale questioned the majority’s wider reasoning about mandatory release. ...
Last modified: 5th Nov 2026
Lord Advocate v Dumbarton District Council [1990] 2 AC 580
Case Summaries
The House of Lords held that the relevant roads and planning provisions did not bind the Crown, allowing both appeals concerning works at Faslane. ...
Last modified: 5th Nov 2026
Stovin v Wise [1996] UKHL 15
Case Summaries
The House of Lords held, by three to two, that Norfolk County Council owed no duty of care for failing to improve visibility at a dangerous junction. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service [1984] UKHL 9
Case Summaries
The GCHQ case established that prerogative powers can be reviewed. The unions’ consultation claim nevertheless failed because the Government established a national-security justification. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
Secretary of State for the Home Department v Rehman [2001] UKHL 47
Case Summaries
National security could include indirect threats arising from terrorism abroad. The House of Lords dismissed Rehman’s appeal and returned his case to SIAC for reconsideration. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
Entick v Carrington [1765] EWHC KB J98
Case Summaries
The King’s messengers were liable in trespass because the Secretary of State lacked lawful authority for the search and seizure of Entick’s private papers. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
Burmah Oil Co v Lord Advocate [1964] UKHL 6
Case Summaries
The House of Lords allowed compensation claims for the lawful wartime destruction of oil installations to proceed, distinguishing the pleaded losses from battle damage. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
Case of Proclamations [1610] EWHC KB J22
Case Summaries
Case of Proclamations (1610): the limits of royal proclamations and the principle that prerogative powers are defined by law. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
BBC v Johns [1964] EWCA Civ 2
Case Summaries
The BBC lacked Crown immunity, but its unspent broadcasting grant was not a taxable profit. The Court of Appeal distinguished that surplus from profits earned through trading. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
Roe v Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
Case Summaries
Roe v Wade recognised a qualified constitutional right to abortion in 1973. This summary explains its reasoning, limits and subsequent overruling in Dobbs in 2022. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
Ball v Johnson [2019] EW Misc 15 (MagC)
Case Summaries
The summons against Boris Johnson was subsequently quashed. This summary explains the original decision and why the High Court held that the alleged campaigning statements fell outside misconduct in public office. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
R (Miller) v The Prime Minister; Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland [2019] UKSC 41
Case Summaries
The Supreme Court held the five-week prorogation unlawful and legally ineffective. Miller’s appeal succeeded and the Government’s appeal in Cherry was dismissed. ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
R (on the application of Bano) v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2026] UKSC 22
Case Summaries
When Waltham Forest offered Mrs Bano a flat in Derby, it told her that its duty to house her would end whether she accepted or refused. The offer letter omitted information the council was required to give. The question was when she could challenge that omission. The Supreme Court held that the letter itself contained […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland of a devolution issue under paragraph 34 of Schedule 10 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 [2026] UKSC 16
Case Summaries
The Attorney General for Northern Ireland asked whether a revised code could treat adults lacking mental capacity as consenting to their care through positive wishes and feelings. The Supreme Court overruled Cheshire West's 'acid test', restored a multifactorial approach and held the Code lawful. Background The Attorney General for Northern Ireland referred a devolution issue […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
In the matter of an application by Noeleen McAleenon for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) [2024] UKSC 31
Case Summaries
Noeleen McAleenon asked the courts to review whether public regulators had properly dealt with fumes from a nearby landfill site. The Court of Appeal refused judicial review because she could instead prosecute the operator or sue in nuisance. The Supreme Court held that those were different proceedings against a different party and were not a […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
In the matter of an application by JR222 for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) [2024] UKSC 35
Case Summaries
The Supreme Court held that section 13(1) of the Inquiries Act 2005 allows a minister to suspend a public inquiry only if it appears necessary to do so in order to let another investigation finish or related civil or criminal proceedings be determined, and only for the period that appears necessary. JR222, a former nurse […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
In the matter of an application by James Hugh Allister and others for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) [2023] UKSC 5
Case Summaries
These linked appeals challenged the arrangements made for Northern Ireland under the UK–EU Withdrawal Agreement. The appellants argued that the Northern Ireland Protocol conflicted with the Acts of Union, altered Northern Ireland’s constitutional status without consent, and unlawfully permitted certain Assembly votes by simple majority. The Court considered the statutory scheme in force at the […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
R (on the application of VIP Communications Ltd (In Liquidation)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSC 10
Case Summaries
Ofcom proposed to exempt equipment that routed calls through a mobile network while concealing who had made them. The Home Secretary directed Ofcom to keep the licensing requirement on national security and public safety grounds. The Supreme Court had to reconcile two duties Parliament had imposed on Ofcom. One required it to grant exemptions when […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
R (on the application of Officer W80) v Director General of the Independent Office for Police Conduct and others [2023] UKSC 24
Case Summaries
A police officer who used lethal force said he honestly believed a suspect was reaching for a gun. The Supreme Court considered which legal test a disciplinary panel should use when an officer acts on a mistaken belief. The appeal concerned the decision to bring disciplinary proceedings. It did not determine whether this officer had […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
R (on the application of Imam) v London Borough of Croydon [2023] UKSC 45
Case Summaries
Croydon accepted that it had failed for years to secure suitable accommodation for Ms Imam, a wheelchair user. The Supreme Court considered what a council must show if it admits a breach of its housing duty but says that a court order would be impossible to carry out. The breach Croydon accepted that it owed […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
R (on the application of A) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 37
Case Summaries
A police disclosure scheme allowed a person concerned about a child to ask whether someone in contact with the child posed a risk. The Supreme Court considered a challenge to the guidance on consulting the person concerned before a disclosure. Its task was to assess the directions given to officers, rather than to review an […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
R (on the application of Association of Independent Meat Suppliers and another) v Food Standards Agency [2021] UKSC 54
Case Summaries
An official veterinarian refused to certify a slaughtered bull as fit for human consumption because pyaemia was suspected. Without that certification, called a health mark, it would have been a criminal offence for the slaughterhouse operator to try to sell the carcass. Applying answers from the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Supreme […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
Fratila and another v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 53
Case Summaries
During the period governed by EU free movement law, did pre-settled status alone entitle an EU citizen to claim universal credit on the same terms as a UK national? Applying the Court of Justice’s ruling in CG, the Supreme Court held that it did not. The claimants had domestic permission to stay but did not […] ...
Last modified: 4th Nov 2026
