Presentation © Tom Webb, 2022

Principles of
Public Law
Dr Tom Webb
2023-2024

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Aims and Objectives

• To begin to develop a foundational understanding of UK public law

• Constitutional law
• Administrative law
• Human Rights law
• To start to identify the basic institutions, people, concepts and
theories relevant to the subject of public law.
Required Reading

Michael Doherty & Noel McGuirk, Public Law (Routledge, 2022, 3rd
edition), Access via Library; view on Publisher website, Chs. 1, 2.2-2.6

OR

John Stanton & Craig Prescott, Public Law (OUP, 2022, 3rd edition),
Access via Library; view on Publisher website, Ch. 1.1
Part 1
Introduction
What is a Constitution?

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Introduction

• What will we cover?

• Puzzles
• Definitions
• Theme: Power
• Questions to ask
Studying public law is
like completing a puzzle
• There are many interlocking parts
• The pieces do not make sense in
isolation
• The nature of the topic becomes clearer
over time as more pieces connected.
• Once the puzzle is assembled, the
picture is clear(er)

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 • There are more detailed definitions,
but for our purposes, public law is the
law which:
• Regulates the use of public power,
including the legal limits of
Starting with a political power
definition… • Oversees the conduct of politics
• Controls and enables the behavior
of the state
• Governs the relationship between
the citizen and the state
• Allows the citizen to seek redress
for grievances against the state
…and an underlying
theme: Power
• The notion of power
• Legitimacy in the exercise of power
• Accountability for the exercise of
power

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Questions to keep
asking
• What is the form of the power that is being
exercised?
• What is the nature of the power that is being
exercised, for example, is it legal, extra-legal, or
political in nature?
• How does the nature of the power impact on
accountability concerning its exercise?
• Why does accountability for the exercise of the
power matter? For example, does it matter in terms
of key theories and/or key values?
 What is a constitution?

• What will we cover?

• Definitions from
• Lord Bingham
• KC Wheare
• Thomas Paine
• Forms of constitution
• Written / unwritten
• Codified / uncodified

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Lord Bingham
“Any constitution, whether of a state, a trade union, a
college, a club or other institution seeks to lay down
and define, in greater or lesser detail, the main offices
in which authority is vested and the powers which may
be exercised (and not exercised) by the holders of those
offices. Thus if a question arises on what authority or
pursuant to what power an act is done, it is to the
constitution that one would turn to find the answer.”
R (Quark Fishing Ltd) v SS for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs [2005] UKHL 57,
per Lord Bingham at para.12

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KC Wheare
“… the whole system of government
of a country, the collection of rules
which establish and regulate or govern
the government”
Modern Constitutions
(1966), p.1

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Thomas Paine

“… not the act of a government, but of

a people constituting a government, and
a government without a constitution is
power without right … A constitution is
a thing antecedent to a government; and
a government is only the creature of the
constitution.”

The Rights of Man (1792) p.93

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Forms of constitution
• Written / unwritten
• Codified / uncodified

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Part 2
Separation of Powers
Institutions and Functions

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Separation of powers
• What will we cover?
• Key institutions / state
functions in brief
• The Separation of powers
and functions
Key institutions / state
functions in brief
• Three categories of function
• Legislative – Makes the law
• Adjudicative or judicial –
Interprets and enforces the
law
• Executive or governmental –
Implements the law
 The Separation of Powers
Strict or ‘pure’ separation

Executiv Legislati
Judicial
e ve
The Separation of Powers
Partial separation

Executiv
e
Judicial
Legislati
ve
 Separation of Powers
Fusion of Powers / Functions

Judicial

Legislati Executiv
ve e
 Institutions and
Functions
• What will we cover?
• National Institutions
• The Crown
• Parliament
• HM Government
• HM Judiciary and Tribunals

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Parliament

• Also known as ‘Westminster’ or

‘the legislature’
• Is the sovereign law-making
body in the UK
• Law enacted by Parliament
represents the will of the people
• The sovereignty of the UK
Parliament is, in theory,
unlimited.

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 Core functions of
Parliament

• Making and un-making the law

• Authorising ‘supply’ (money –
taxation)
• Authorising the standing armed
forces
• Legitimising the government
• Scrutinising government policy
• Representation
• Debating issues of concern to their
constituents
Government dominates

Image, Pixabay
Parliament is
Bi-Cameral
• This means that it is divided into two
houses or chambers.
• An upper chamber – The House of Lords
(red seats)
• A lower chamber – The House of
Commons (green seats)
• House of Commons is the
constitutionally superior chamber (e.g.
Salisbury Convention, Parliament Acts)

Image Top OGL v3.0; Image Bottom OGL v3.0

 Government

• Also known as ‘Whitehall’

or ‘the executive’
• Ministers:
• Political element, indirectly
appointed via the House of
Commons to implement a
manifesto
• Civil service:
• Professional element, employed
via a competitive selection
process
• Responsible for creating and
implementing government
policy.

Image, © Howard Lake CC BY-SA 2.0

 Core functions of central
government

• Creation and implementation of

policy, e.g.
• Health
• Education
• Immigration
• Transport
• Representation of the UK abroad, e.g.
• In negotiation of international
treaties
• Reporting to Parliament

Image: © Phillipa Rudkin CC BY-SA


Judiciary
Image, © ChrisVTG Photography CC BY-SA 4.0
• Also known as ‘the courts’
• Individual courts may be referred to by other names (e.g. UK
Supreme Court)
• Independent, impartial, and staffed by professionals
• Guardians of the constitution and individual rights
• Senior judges are only removable by Parliament
• Do you know which plants feature in the logo of the Supreme
Court?
 • Interpreting the law
independently and
impartially
• Applying general
rules to concrete
Core cases
constitutional • Examining the use of
functions of the public power via
judiciary judicial review
• Providing
authoritative
statements of the
law, and answers to
legal questions

Image: © Smuconlaw CC BY-SA

 Pause the video

Visit a blog, reliable news source, or listen to a radio

programme (look in the section 9.6 of the course
handbook for examples)
Mid-lecture
task Read / listen to a recent article concerning one or
more of the institutions we have discussed.

Make notes on how each of the institutions discussed

so far were involved / portrayed by the author as
regards the issues considered in the blog.
Part 3
Key People and Institutions

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Key People, Office Holders and Groups

• The Monarch • Speaker of the House of

• The Prime Minister Commons
• Cabinet Ministers • Members of the House of
Lords
• Ministers of the Crown
• Political Parties
• HM Official or Loyal
Opposition • Judges
• Members of Parliament • Local government
• Citizens
The Monarch
• HM The King, HRH Charles III, is the Head
of State. His official residence is Buckingham
Palace.
• The UK has a constitutional monarch.
• A constitutional monarchy is a form of
government where the ability to pass and
make legislation lies with an elected
Parliament and not the monarch, but the
monarch generally retains some key
constitutional powers.
• A constitutional monarchy separates the Head
of State’s constitutional and ceremonial and
duties from party politics.

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The Prime Minister
• Rt Hon. Rishi Sunak MP (Conservative Party)
• The most senior of all the Ministers – primus inter pares
(‘first among equals’) – but can ‘hire and fire’
• The Head of Government
• Official London residence is No 10 Downing Street,
country residence is Chequers.
• By convention
• Is an elected Member of the House of Commons
• Normally leads the largest party in the House of
Commons
• Appointed by the Monarch
• Must be able to command, with their government, the
confidence of the House of Commons.
• How many Prime Ministers can you name?

Image, Parliament UK, CC BY 3.0

Cabinet
• On paper, the leading decision-making body
of government
• Membership comprises senior government
ministers personally selected by the Prime
Minister and appointed by the Crown.
• Is chaired by the Prime Minister
• Is bound by the conventional principle of
‘collective responsibility’
• Examples of Cabinet ministers include: The
Home Secretary, The Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Foreign Secretary.

Image, OGL v3
Non-Cabinet Ministers
• Ministers of state
• e.g. Minister for Prisons, and Minister
for Immigration.
• Parliamentary Under-Secretaries (or
simply, Parliamentary Secretaries),
distinct from Parliamentary Private
Secretaries.
• They are – by convention – appointed
by the Queen on the recommendation
of the Prime Minister

Image: © George Evans CC BY-SA 2.0

HM Official Opposition /
Loyal Opposition
• Leader of the Opposition, Rt Hon. Sir
Kier Starmer MP (Labour Party)
• A government in waiting, a ‘shadow’
cabinet
• Comprises elected MPs in the largest
non-governing party

Image, Parliament UK, CC BY 3.0

Members of Parliament
• Sit in the House of Commons
• Are elected to represent a constituency (a
geographical area)
• Cannot be a judge, a member of the
armed forces or a civil servant
• (Usually) belong to a political party
• May be appointed to become a Minister
or Cabinet Minister (Front Bench)
• Those not appointed to government, or on
the Opposition Benches, the Shadow
Cabinet, are called ‘Backbenchers’.
• Are expected to adhere to high standards
in their public life

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Speaker of the House of
Commons
• Post currently held by Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle
MP ( Speaker, formerly Labour Party)
• Chairs debates in the House of Commons
• Makes authoritative decisions interpreting the
internal procedures and rules governing the House
of Commons
• Represents the Commons
• Various deputies, other officers of the House.
• Clerk of the Commons
• Serjeant at Arms

• HoL equivalent – Lord Speaker

Image, Parliament UK, CC BY 3.0

 Members of the
House of Lords
• There are no members elected by
the public.
• Most members are appointed
• Some members are hereditary peers
(peers by birth, elected by other
hereditary peers)
• Many do not belong to a political
party (Cross-benchers)
• Some are senior clergy of the
Church of England
• By convention, only appointed
members should be made a Minister
or Cabinet Minister
• Are expected to adhere to high
standards in their public life
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Political Parties
• Form the foundation for
identifying a government /
opposition.
• Provide the means through
which parliamentary business
is arranged
• Almost all MPs are members
of a political party.
• Many Lords are aligned to a
political party.
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 The judges

• Possess specified legal

qualifications and/or
experience
• Must not be a member of
Parliament nor of the
Government
• May not undertake any other
privately paid work
• Do not wield gavels!

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 Local Government

• Elections to most levels of local government

• Responsible for implementing lots of important areas of policy, e.g.
social services, planning, waste collection (the bins!), libraries and
museums, recreational spaces, community events
• Multiple levels/forms – county, unitary, combined, mayoral,
city/district, town, civil parish.

Images, © Lancaster City Council, Lancashire County Council; Morecambe Town Council; Ellel Parish Council
The citizenry /
subjects
• In the UK, citizens are subject
of the Crown.
• Citizenship is acquired by
birth or by qualification
• Bestows certain rights and
entitlements, such as the right
to vote, residency

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 Pause the video

Review the notes you made for the mid-

lecture task
End of part
task Think about the individuals / office
holders we have just discussed

Add to your notes on the mid-lecture task

in the light of Part 3 of the lecture
Part 4
Key Values and Concepts

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Key values and principles

• Constitutionalism
• Parliamentary sovereignty
• The Rule of Law
• Separation of Powers
• Representation
• Accountability
• Legitimacy
• Rights
Constitutionalism
• There are many definitions but the key
common features are:
• Political and legal constitutionalism
• The legitimacy of power
• The authority of power
• The limitation of power
• The empowerment and protection of
citizens

Clockwise Image top left Pixabay; middle © Flickr/Dan Perry;

bottom © Howard Lake CC BY-SA 2.0
Parliamentary sovereignty
• Is a key principle of the UK constitution
• Political and legal sovereignty
• Parliament is the supreme law making body
• The courts cannot strike down any laws
enacted by Parliament
• Parliament cannot (in theory) pass laws that
‘bind’ future Parliaments
• The reality of parliamentary sovereignty is more
complex than this

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The rule of law
• There are many definitions, but the key features are:
• The supremacy of law
• The absence of arbitrary power
• Predictability and clarity in the law
• Legal equality

• We might also add more nebulous ideas like

• Fairness
• Justice
• Equality

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The separation of • Division of power / functions
• Checks and balances
powers • Fusion
 Accountability
• Taking responsibility for actions,
decisions, and policies

• In the UK, accountability occurs by way

of, for example:
• Elections
• Administrative justice
• Parliamentary scrutiny of the
executive (e.g. via Select
Committees)
• Ombuds
• The courts

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 Legitimacy

• Possessing authority to act,

make decisions, and
determine policy
• In the UK legitimacy can
be obtained by way of:
• Participation in the
political process (e.g.
by standing for
election)
• Elections (i.e., by
voting)
• Appointment to
certain offices and
roles (e.g. a judicial
post)

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Rights

• Obtained from various sources

• Common Law
• Human Rights Act 1998
• International instruments

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 Review the notes you made for the
preceding lecture tasks

Think about the key values and

principles we have just discussed
End of lecture
tasks Add to your notes on the mid-lecture task
in the light of Part 4 of the lecture

Now take the quiz at this link to test your

knowledge!
Any questions?
Ask now, email t.webb@lancaster.ac.uk, or
book an appointment
Did you spot the big cat in the lecture slides?