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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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Associated legal terms

Breach of the peace

Breach of the peace describes actual or threatened violence, or a disturbance causing fear of such harm, and the preventive powers used to stop it.

In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, it is a common law concept, not a criminal offence. Case law (R v Howell [1982] QB 416) holds that it occurs where harm is done or likely to be done to a person or, in their presence, property, or a person fears such harm from an imminent disturbance. Police and citizens may arrest without warrant to prevent a breach that is occurring, imminent or likely to be renewed; magistrates may bind over to keep the peace or be of good behaviour.

In Scotland, breach of the peace is a common law offence. The test (Smith v Donnelly 2002 JC 65) requires conduct severe enough to cause alarm to ordinary people and threaten serious disturbance. Cases proceed under section 38 Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (threatening or abusive behaviour).

In Ireland, the term is descriptive alongside statutory public order offences (Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994) and peace‑bond orders; Gardaí may intervene to prevent imminent violence.

Practically, it underpins protest policing and unlawful arrest claims.

Public corporation

A public corporation generally refers, in UK and Irish legal practice, to a body established by statute to carry on commercial or service activities on behalf of the state, with a distinct legal personality and a degree of operational independence from ministers. It is commonly used to describe nationalised industries or state-sponsored bodies that trade, hold assets and incur liabilities in their own name.

In the UK, “public corporation” is primarily a descriptive term used in public law, administrative law and public finance, and appears in legislation such as the Office for National Statistics classifications and sectoral statutes creating specific corporations. Public corporations typically have a statutory constitution, a board appointed (wholly or mainly) by government, borrowing or funding powers, and are subject to public law duties, audit and accountability frameworks.

In Ireland, the concept is broadly similar, though entities are more often referred to as “state bodies”, “semi-state bodies” or “commercial state-sponsored bodies”, with the precise legal form determined by their establishing Act.

Across all jurisdictions, understanding whether a body is a public corporation is important for issues such as judicial review, state aid, public procurement, FOI, liability, and classification for public sector finance and insolvency purposes.

Uti possidetis juris

Uti possidetis juris is a principle of public international law that preserves existing administrative or colonial boundaries as the legal frontiers of newly independent states at the moment of independence. In practice, it is used to determine state borders and avoid territorial disputes when empires or federations break up.

The doctrine is not set out in a single statute, but has been developed through international case law, including decisions of the International Court of Justice. It is commonly applied in decolonisation and state succession contexts, for example in Africa, Latin America and the former Yugoslavia.

For UK and Irish legal practitioners, uti possidetis juris is relevant when advising on state recognition, territorial sovereignty, boundary disputes, treaty interpretation, and public international law litigation or arbitration. It distinguishes between merely factual possession (uti possidetis de facto) and possession backed by prior legal title.

Usage and meaning are consistent across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, as all rely on general public international law. The term is rarely used in domestic constitutional or property law, where different doctrines govern possession and title.
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