Legalism and English Administrative Law: Comment on Sterett |
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Authors: | David Feldman Mark Gould |
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Affiliation: | Reader in Law, University of Bristol.;Lecturer in Law, University of Bristol. The authors would like to thank Mr. Jack Beatson, Professor Stephen Cretney, and Sir Derek Oulton for their very illuminating comments on an earlier draft of this Comment. |
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Abstract: | In a recent issue of this journal (Volume 15, Number 4, Fall 1990), Susan Sterett examined the role of the Law Commission in the development of English administrative law. She suggested that the Commission mimicked a "peak association" and adopted an "idiom of legalism" in order to justify its reform proposals. This comment disagrees with Sterett on three grounds. First, the role and constitutional position of the Commission is far more complex than Sterett suggests, and this affects the way in which the Commission works. Second, judges and academic lawyers were central to the reform of substantive principles of judicial review in the 1960s and 1970s, making it unnecessary for the Law Commission to act in this field. Finally, it is wrong to ignore the fact that much administrative law occurs outside the judicial review procedure. |
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