About Public Law
As a government lawyer your clients are experiencing various impacts on policy making from numerous and competing interests such as austerity, efficiency, collective/individual rights, European and devolved/delegated jurisdictions. Your job advising on legislation and risk of challenge through judicial review is increasingly time consuming and complex.
Brexit
With reform of retained EU law high on the agenda, post-Brexit legal changes remains a key issue. Get key information and updates for all practitioners, with practice area specific Brexit content across the modules.
Judicial Review
We outline the key principles and procedural requirements with a clear focus on the public sector perspective. The content focusses primarily on judicial review in the Administrative Court in England and Wales.
Public Procurement
Failure to stick to procedures can have significant legal, financial and practical consequences for a contracting authority. We guide you through various processes, focussing on the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
Expertise on all matters
An essential resource providing guidance & materials on core legal subjects relevant to lawyers in all areas of legal practice, as well as specialist content designed to assist government lawyers in a range of key areas
Topics We Cover
Latest Public Law News
Details of updates to HMRC import, export and customs guidance for the period from 3 to 10 March 2025....
The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments (JCSI) has published its Sixteenth Report of Session 2024-25, drawing the special attention of both...
The House of Commons Library has published a research briefing reviewing the requirement for voters to present photographic identification at polling...
This week's edition of Public Law weekly highlights includes expert analysis of the decision in Working on Wellbeing Ltd trading as Optima Health v...
The House of Commons Library has published a comprehensive briefing on the Labour government's efforts to reset UK-EU relations since taking office in...
Latest Public Law Practice Notes
Age, gender reassignment, race and sexThis Practice Note considers the definitions of the protected characteristics of age, gender reassignment, race...
A suggested approach to project management•Structure the project. The initial project definition should be contained within a terms of reference...
Project set upThis is the most important phase of the project, as it lays the foundation for the rest of the project. It is also the phase that is...
Performance managementPerformance management is part leadership, part creating the right environment, part having an appropriate strategy and part...
A 12-month plan to revitalise a legal departmentScenario: The team is working hard, but demand is increasing and resources are tighter than ever. The...
Latest Public Law Precedents
Privacy policy—general commercial organisation—customer-facingWe take your privacy very seriously. Please read this privacy policy carefully as it...
Intellectual property internal audit questionnaireIntroduction:This questionnaire relates to the intellectual property (IP) audit being supervised by...
Personal data processing schedule—short form—pro-processorThis Precedent is drafted in contemplation of arrangements where the parties wish to insert...
Personal data processing schedule—short form—pro-controllerThis Precedent is drafted in contemplation of arrangements where the parties wish to insert...
Letter accompanying Invitation to participate in dialogue—competitive dialogue procedureSTOP PRESS: As of 24 February 2025, the main provisions of the...
Latest Public Law Q&As
Featured Public Law content
Methods of statutory interpretation used to resolve disputes about the meaning of legislation
Methods of statutory interpretation used to resolve disputes about the meaning of legislationIntroduction to statutory interpretationThe aim of...
Sources of constitutional law
Sources of constitutional lawIn briefThe British constitution is unwritten in the sense that it does not derive from a single constitutional text. It...
Direct effect of EU law
Direct effect of EU lawWhat is direct effect of EU law?The doctrine of direct effect is a fundamental principle of EU law developed by the Court of...
Convention rights—structure of qualified rights
Convention rights—structure of qualified rightsThe rights preserved under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as set out in the Human...
Separation of powers—legislative, executive and judiciary
Separation of powers—legislative, executive and judiciarySource of the doctrine of the separation of powersThe origins of the doctrine of the...
What is a public authority?
What is a public authority?There is no single, universal answer to the question whether a particular organisation is treated, in law, as a public...
Structure and functions of EU institutions and bodies
Structure and functions of EU institutions and bodiesThe EU’s unique institutional frameworkThe European Union is a supranational polity, and is...
Harmonisation
HarmonisationDefinitionHarmonisation, also known as standardisation or approximation, refers to the determination of EU-wide legally binding standards...
What is fettering of discretion in judicial review? When is it an actionable ground of challenge and what must be established for a challenge to succeed?
The status of EU law in the UK after Brexit [Archived]
The status of EU law in the UK after Brexit [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained.This Practice Note provides...
Indirect effect of EU law
Indirect effect of EU lawWhat is indirect effect of EU law?The doctrine of indirect effect, or consistent interpretation, is a duty that national...
What is Wednesbury unreasonableness?
Parliamentary supremacy—implied repeal
Parliamentary supremacy—implied repealEssential to Parliament’s legislative supremacy is the principle that Parliament is not bound by its...
The executive and the civil service
The executive and the civil serviceWhat is a civil servant?A civil servant is any permanent, non-political employee of central government—servants of...
What is the EU infringement procedure under Article 258 TFEU and how can proceedings be monitored?
EU internal competence
EU internal competenceThe limits of EU competencesThe limits of EU competences are governed by the principle of conferral (also known as principle of...
Free movement of EU workers and citizens
Free movement of EU workers and citizensEU workers and EU citizens enjoy the right of freedom of movement. This right is granted to EU workers in...
The four freedoms—goods, services, establishment and capital
The four freedoms—goods, services, establishment and capitalFree movement of goodsRestriction on importsScope of the prohibitionArticle 34 of the...
Associated legal terms
Accrued interest
Interest which has accumulated since the most recent coupon payment date on a bond or other fixed-interest security.
Ethernet
A protocol for interconnecting computers and peripheral devices at high speed. Recently Gigabit Ethernet has become available, which enables speeds up to 1 Gbit/s. Ethernet can run on several types of wiring including twisted pair, coaxial, and even fibre optic cable.
Notification of primary conclusions
Draft determination by the Pensions Ombudsman. Issued towards the end of an investigation to give the parties a final opportunity to comment prior to a determination being made.
CONTACT US
