Accountability in the Contemporary Constitution

Administrative / Constitutional Law

Accountability in the Contemporary Constitution

Edited by Nicholas Bamforth · Peter Leyland
Oxford University Press November 2013

Specifications

ISBN-13
9780199670024
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publication
November 2013
Format
Hardback , 432 pages
Jurisdiction
U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

  • Explores the central concept of accountability in the constitutional law of the United Kingdom
  • Traces the historical development of, and theoretical debates on, accountability in public law
  • Examines the role of judges and the relationship between the judicial and political aspects of the constitution
  • Includes contributions from leading scholars in constitutional law

Accountability is regarded as a central feature of modern constitutionalism. At a general level, this prominence is perhaps unsurprising, given the long history of the idea. However, in many constitutional democracies, including the UK and the USA, it has acquired a particular resonance in contemporary circumstances with the declining power of social deference, the expanding reach of populist accountability mechanisms, and the increasing willingness of citizens to find mechanisms for challenging official decision-making. These essays, by public law scholars, seek to explore how ideas of and mechanisms associated with accountability play a part in the contemporary constitution. While the majority of contributors concentrate on the United Kingdom, others provide comparative discussion with particular reference to the United States and aspects of European Union law. 

The main focus of the volume is the contemporary UK constitution. Chapters are included which analyse the historical context (including the role of Dicey), common law constitutionalism, the constitutional role of Parliament, the constitutional role of the courts, judicial accountability, human rights protection under the constitution and the contribution of non-judicial accountability mechanisms. Further chapters explore the public service principle, the impact of new public management on public service delivery, and the relationship between accountability and regulation. Finally accountability is discussed in the light of constitutional reform including the challenges posed by the 'multi-layered' government at the supra national level of EU membership and sub-national national levels of devolution and local government.

Readership: Academics and students of public law and constitutional politics, and practitioners in the field of public law

Table of Contents

  1. Nicholas Bamforth and Peter Leyland: Introduction: Accountability in the Contemporary Constitution
  2. John Allison: The Spirits of the Constitution
  3. Mark Tushnet: Judicial Accountability in Comparative Perspective
  4. TRS Allan: Accountability to Law
  5. Sandra Fredman: Adjudication as Accountability: A Deliberative Approach
  6. Jeff King: The Instrumental Value of Legal Accountability
  7. Alison Young: Accountability, Human Rights Adjudication and the Human Rights Act
  8. Paul Craig: Accountability and Judicial Review in the UK and EU: Central Precepts
  9. Andrew Le Sueur: Parliamentary Accountability and the Judicial System
  10. Mark Elliott: Ombudsmen, Tribunals, Inquiries: Re-fashioning Accountability Beyond the Courts
  11. Nicholas Bamforth: Accountability of and to the Legislature
  12. Dawn Oliver: Accountability and the Foundations of British Democracy - the Public Interest and Public Service Principles
  13. Peter Leyland: Multi-layered Constitutional Accountability and the Refinancing of Territorial Governance in the UK
  14. Anne Davies: Beyond New Public Management: Problems of Accountability in the Modern Administrative State
  15. Julia Black: Regulatory Accountability: Capacities, Challenges, and Prospects
  16. Colm O'Cinneide: Legal Accountability and Social Justice

About the Author

Edited by Nicholas Bamforth, Fellow in Law, The Queen's College, Oxford, and Peter Leyland, Professor of Public Law, London Metropolitan University

Nicholas Bamforth is a Fellow in Law at The Queen's College, Oxford. His research focuses on public law, human rights, and discrimination law. His publications include: Patriarchal Religion, Sexuality and Gender: A Critique of New Natural Law (with D Richards) and Discrimination Law - Theory in Context: Text and Materials(with M Malik and C O'Cinneide, 2008).

Peter Leyland is Professor of Public Law at London Metropolitan University. He co-edits the Constitutional Systems of the World series and is the author of numerous books and articles on constitutional law, administrative law, and comparative public law, including The Constitution of the United Kingdom: A Contextual Analysis (2012) and Textbook on Administrative Law (7th edition, with G Anthony, 2012). Nicholas Bamforth and Peter Leyland jointly edited Public Law in a Multi-Layered Constitution (2003).

 

Contributors: 
TRS Allan, Professor of Jurisprudence and Public Law, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge
John Allison, University Senior Lecturer, University of Cambridge School of Law, and Fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge 
Nicholas Bamforth, Fellow in Law at Queen's College, Oxford
Julia Black, Professor of Law, London School of Economics
Paul Craig, Professor of English Law, St John's College, Oxford
Anne Davies, Professor of Law and Public Policy, University of Oxford, and Fellow of Brasenose College
Mark Elliott, Reader in Public Law, University of Cambridge and Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Sandra Fredman, Rhodes Professor of the Laws of the British Commonwealth and the United States, University of Oxford, and Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford
Jeff King, Senior Lecturer in Law. University College London
Andrew Le Sueur, Professor of Public Law, Queen Mary College, University of London
Peter Leyland, Professor of Public Law, London Metropolitan University
Colm O'Cinneide, Reader in Law, University College London
Dawn Oliver, Emeritus Professor of Constitutional Law, University College London
Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Alison Young, Senior Law Tutor, Hertford College, Oxford

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