Public Law 2: Administrative Justice

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the procedural rules relevant to the legal challenge of exercises of power by domestic or EU institutions, such as rules of standing.
• the extent of, and reasons for, the divergence in approach as regards administrative law in the EU and in England and Wales.
• the constitutional background to, development of, and current status of administrative law in England.
• the principles which structure the competences of the European Union and the exercise of those competences by EU institutions.
• the grounds of judicial review in England and Wales.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• understand and critically assess complex conceptual disputes and their translation into practice.
• critically evaluate complex material, providing a reasoned basis for your agreement or disagreement with it.
• construct and present clear and coherent written argument demonstrating an appreciation of academic integrity

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• analyse legal and non-legal sources relevant to the topic of administrative law and administrative justice in the context of both the English and European legal systems.
• critically assess the adequacy of the systems of administrative law and justice within English and European law in their own right and by comparing one with the other, along normative axes such as those provided by the concepts of administrative justice and the rule of law.
• apply legal material to a range of new and hypothetical scenarios in order to demonstrate your understanding of the principles underlying that material.
• correctly apply knowledge and understanding of English and European Union administrative law to a range of hypothetical scenarios.

The following is an indicative list of topics covered in the module:

1.Normative accounts of administrative justice and related concepts.

2.English administrative law.

a.The development of administrative law in England.

b.The grounds of judicial review in domestic law:

i.Illegality.

ii.Irrationality.

iii.Procedural impropriety.

iv.Legitimate expectations.

v.The evolution of approaches to reasonableness in judicial review.

c.The process of judicial review:

i.Standing in judicial review proceedings.

ii.Amenability to judicial review.

iii.Procedural limitations in judicial review

3.EU administrative law:

a.General principles of EU law.

b.Grounds of judicial review in the EU.

c.Procedural elements of EU administrative law.

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be delivered via two main types of teaching activities:

• Lectures will provide an overview of the module content and, where appropriate, offering a detailed discussion of specific elements of module content. A recording of each lecture will be uploaded on Blackboard and remain available for streaming, to the extent that this is technically feasible.
• Seminars will enable you to discuss material read in advance – primarily cases relevant to that seminar’s topic – and discussion the application of the rules which emerge out of that reading. The seminars are not recorded.

Learning activities also include:

• Directed Reading (as per distributed reading lists).
• Independent research to add to core knowledge (where appropriate).
• Preparation of answers to problem questions in advance of seminars.
• Class discussion (including small group work).
• Completion of a summative exam

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Elliot and Thomas (2020). Public Law. Oxford University Press.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External