THIS PAPER IS NOT TO BE REMOVED FROM THE EXAMINATION HALLS

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON LA3008 ZA

DIPLOMA IN THE COMMON LAW

LLB

ALL SCHEMES AND ROUTES

BSc DEGREES WITH LAW

Administrative Law

Friday 8 May 2015: 14.30 – 17.45

Candidates will have fifteen minutes during which they may read the paper
and make rough notes ONLY in their answer books. They then have the
remaining THREE HOURS in which to answer the questions.

Candidates should answer FOUR of the following EIGHT questions.

Candidates should answer all parts of a question unless otherwise stated.

Permitted materials
None.

© University of London 2015

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1. Assess the proposition that Ombudsmen have made very little
difference to the quality of government decision-making.

2. “The opposition expressed by Lords Ackner and Lowry in R. v

Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Brind (1991) to
the acceptance of proportionality as a generally applicable ground of
review in domestic administrative law was misconceived in both
doctrinal and practical terms.”

Discuss.

3. “The orthodox doctrine of estoppel places too many obstacles in the

path of the claimant who seeks to bind a government body to the
substance of a representation the body has made. The doctrine of
legitimate expectation is a far more appropriate tool with which to
achieve just outcomes.”

Discuss.

4. “That some unlawful decisions should be void and others merely

voidable is attractive from a remedial perspective. Unhappily, the
courts have failed to produce any principled basis for assigning
unlawful decisions to one category rather than the other.”

To what extent would you agree with this proposition?

5. Has the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 triggered a

significant change in the nature and scope of administrative law?

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6. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), funded by agreed levies on
advertisers, operates a self-regulation system designed to ensure that
the industry meets certain standards. Its role is recognised by the
statutory Competition and Markets Authority.

HoganAir is a flights and holiday business, offering low cost fares and
packages to customers. Recently the ASA has published adjudications
on complaints regarding five of HoganAir’s advertisements, in each
case finding the company guilty of a breach of its code, resulting in
forced withdrawal of the advertisements and adverse publicity. Advise
the company, which is unhappy about each of the adjudications, on the
grounds below:

(a) Complaint 2015/31. HoganAir have learned that the ASA simply
accepted the recommendation of their Director of Complaints
that the advertisement displayed a misleading ticket price.

(b) Complaint 2015/32. ASA had found it convenient to adjudicate

on this complaint at short notice, as it raised very similar issues
to another complaint made against a drinks company. HoganAir
were only notified and invited to submit their views at 10.00 am
on the morning when the ASA was going to consider the matter
that afternoon.

(c) Complaint 2015/53. A HoganAir advertisement compared ticket

prices with those of two rival companies. The ASA heard
evidence from executives of the two rival companies as
witnesses, and would not allow HoganAir’s spokeswoman to
cross-examine them.

(d) Complaint 2015/64. HoganAir had wanted to be represented by

a lawyer specialising in intellectual property, when the ASA was
considering an alleged code breach to the effect that the
company was making unfair use of another company’s trade
mark in an advertisement. However, their request was refused.

(e) Complaint 2015/65. The ASA ruled that a humorous

advertisement from HoganAir infringed their code rule on
“decency”. HoganAir complain that they have been given no
reasons for the decision.

7. Consider critically how courts have responded to attempts to exclude

or limit judicial review through statutory provisions. Do you agree with
Lord Pannick, QC, who has written recently that “judicial review needs
to be protected from our politicians”?

8. “Few tears would be shed if the Supreme Court were to decide that the
House of Lords judgment in O’Reilly v Mackman (1983) should be
overruled.”

Discuss. END OF PAPER

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