Using OSCOLA and no quotations in this paper.
Question 1 (1600 words, excluding footnotes and bibliography)
“One of the merits of the [formal theory] of the rule of law I am defending is that there are so many values it does not serve.” (Joseph Raz, ‘The Rule of Law and its Virtue’ in The Authority of Law (OUP 1979) 219)
Discuss critically,
Using the PEEL method and explaining exactly what influence an example/argument would have on your answer. You must show the connections to the question, not leaving it for the reader to draw inferences.
Question 2 (1600 words, excluding footnotes and bibliography)
Use the IRAC method to thoroughly and logically cover the issues in this problem question.
Issues : state the legal issues to be addressed
Rules : outline the laws relevant to the issues
Apply: explain how the legal rules apply to the fact of the problem question
Conclusion: What will be the outcome
For each part of the question, carry out the following steps:
Identify the ISSUE –
Which ground(s) of review is applicable?
Which form of that ground of review is applicable?
Identify the relevant legal RULES –
What are the leading cases on the identified ground and what rule(s) or principle(s) do they set out?
Are any non-leading cases that are directly relevant due to factual similarities (for example)?
Explain how the rules APPLY to the facts –
Outline relevant factual similarities/differences between the problem question and decided cases.
Explain how you think a court would apply the rules and principles to the facts.
CONCLUDE by predicting the outcome of a claim for judicial review.
Under the Housing (Planning) Act 2022, the Minister for Housing has a range of powers relating to planning decisions.
The Minister for Housing, Jens-Rick Roberts, uses powers conferred on him under Section 6 of the Act to grant planning permission for a housing development. The developer, Desmond Richards, stands to profit substantially from this decision. It is discovered that the Minister and the developer shared a table at a fundraising event for the Minister’s political party two weeks before the Minister made the decision to grant planning permission. The local authority for the borough in which the development is planned objects to the planning decision.
Under Section 18 of the Act, the Minister has a power to prohibit a development which has been approved by a Local Authority if doing so would protect the environment. The Minister exercises this power to prevent proposed development of a disused industrial site in the village of Grumbles, just outside Swanage. In published reasons for this decision, the Minister accepts that the development would reduce pollution emanating from the site and would have a positive overall environmental impact. However, the development would have a small negative impact on local seagulls, which occasionally nest amongst the disused buildings. According to the Minister’s published reasons, this impact on the local seagull population was the most important factor in the decision to prohibit the development. A group of residents of Grumbles, the ‘Village Brownfield Preservation Society’, objects to the decision.
Under Section 33 of the Act, the Minister has a power to grant planning permission for development of leisure facilities. In exercising this power the Minister is required to consider specified factors including: ‘the environmental impact’, ‘the economic impact’, and ‘other benefits to the local population’. Developers have applied to construct a boating lake on the outskirts of Swanage. The development will have a minor negative impact on the environment, but the Minister grants permission for development. In his published reasons, he cites a petition in support of the development signed by a substantial proportion of Swanage residents as being particularly persuasive. A recently established national pressure group, the ‘Save our Countryside Society’ (SOCS) objects to the decision.
Under section 49 of the Act, the Minister has the power to approve coastal developments. Bob wants to build a four-storey house on his land near the waterfront in Swanage. He applies to the Minister for approval, but receives a letter rejecting his application. The letter states that permission has been automatically refused because the Minister has adopted a policy that no development exceeding two-storeys will be approved in waterfront locations. Bob feels this decision is unfair. The house he intends to build sits in a dip in the topography, which means that would only appear to be slightly taller than surrounding two-storey buildings.
Advise each prospective applicant for judicial review as to standing and grounds of judicial review
