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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.

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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

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Latest Public Law Q&As

Q&As
A contracting authority conducts a mini-competition (for an above-threshold service contract) under a dynamic purchasing system and receives only one bid, which is over budget. In this scenario, is negotiation with the sole tenderer, with a view to reducing the contract price, permitted under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, SI 2015/102?
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After a one off data sharing has taken place, which complies with the DPA 1998, what are the ongoing obligations on the original data controller?
Q&As
A contracting authority is considering an asset purchase from a company including land and vehicles. If the value of the vehicles is above-threshold and the exemptions under the Public Contract Regulations 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 32 do not assist, is it correct to say that a full public procurement process would be required or is there an option under which the authority could contract directly to procure the vehicles?
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Can an EU based organisation (which is a controller) once the GDPR applies transfer personal data outside of the EEA to a non-EU (and non-EEA) controller in reliance only on the derogations provided in Article 49 of the GDPR (where none of the appropriate safeguards provided under Article 46 of the GDPR can be used) or are there any other requirements which must be met to rely on Article 49 of the GDPR? Is there any guidance on the circumstances to which subparagraphs (a) to (c) of Article 49(1) of the GDPR apply?
Q&As
Can an application to the European Court of Human Rights be issued when the remedies of the national courts have not been exhausted?
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Associated legal terms

Genocide

Genocide refers in legal practice to certain extreme acts of mass violence committed with the intention of destroying a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part. It is most often encountered in the context of international criminal law, asylum and immigration claims, universal jurisdiction, extradition, and human rights litigation.

In the UK and Ireland, “genocide” is not a general common law term but a legally defined international crime. Its core elements derive from the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, implemented in the UK by the Genocide Act 1969 (now largely superseded) and subsequent legislation, and in Ireland by the Genocide Act 1973 and later statutes. Domestic courts interpret the term consistently with international jurisprudence, including decisions of international criminal tribunals.

Key features include: (1) specified underlying acts, such as killing or causing serious bodily or mental harm; (2) the targeting of a protected group; and (3) the specific intent (dolus specialis) to destroy that group as such. Usage and legal meaning are broadly consistent across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Indecent exposure

Indecent exposure describes deliberately revealing one’s genitals so that another person will see them and be alarmed or distressed. In England and Wales it is commonly prosecuted as the statutory offence of “exposure” under the Sexual Offences Act 2003; the conduct need not be in a public place, and key elements are intentional exposure of the genitals and an intention that someone will see and be caused alarm or distress. Recklessness or accidental exposure is insufficient. Related charges may include outraging public decency or public order offences.

In Scotland, comparable conduct is criminalised under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 (often termed “sexual exposure”), replacing older common law labels such as shameless or public indecency. Northern Ireland mirrors the England and Wales approach in the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008.

In Ireland, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 creates offences covering exposure and offensive conduct of a sexual nature, typically requiring that it occurs in or near a public place and targets causing fear, distress or alarm.

Conviction is a sexual offence and, depending on sentence and jurisdiction, may trigger sex offender notification requirements and ancillary orders. Practically, intent, context (public/private visibility), and impact on observers are central to charging and defence.

Investigatory power

Investigatory power refers to the legal authority of a public body or office‑holder to obtain information, compel cooperation or otherwise investigate suspected wrongdoing, regulatory breaches or threats to the public interest. In UK and Irish practice, the term is descriptive rather than a single defined concept, and covers a wide range of statutory and common law powers.

Examples include police powers to search, seize and interview; regulators’ powers to require documents and information; and surveillance, interception and data‑acquisition powers exercised by intelligence agencies and law enforcement. In the UK these are principally derived from specific legislation such as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, together with sector‑specific statutes. In Ireland, key sources include the Garda Síochána (Powers) Acts and regulatory enforcement legislation.

Across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, investigatory powers are constrained by constitutional and human rights standards (including Article 8 ECHR / privacy rights), requirements of necessity and proportionality, and procedural safeguards such as warrants, independent authorisation, and judicial and parliamentary oversight.
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