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Public law: putting policy into practice

01 October 2021 / Nicholas Dobson
Issue: 7950 / Categories: Features , Public
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Nicholas Dobson reports on the lawfulness of public authority policies & guidance
  • Guidance in the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme was lawful when it required the police to consider seeking representations from the subject if the application for disclosure raised relevant concerns (including where the subject has child sex offence convictions).

As the early 17th century proverb advises, honesty is the best policy. Marx would agree, asserting that: ‘The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing’. However, this being Groucho and not Karl, he added: ‘If you can fake that, you’ve got it made’.

But what is a policy in terms of government and other public authorities? The Oxford English Dictionary takes us into the ballpark, giving the usual sense as including: ‘A principle or course of action adopted or proposed as desirable, advantageous, or expedient; esp. one formally advocated by a government, political party, etc.’

The Supreme Court recently gave public authority policies some heavy-duty attention when considering the standards applicable by courts when judicially reviewing the contents

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Partner joins family law team inLondon

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Private client division announces five new partners

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Banking and finance team welcomes partner in London

NEWS
The landmark Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd—along with Rukhadze v Recovery Partners—redefine fiduciary duties in commercial fraud. Writing in NLJ this week, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley analyses the implications of the rulings
Barristers Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers use the arrest of Simon Leviev—the so-called Tinder Swindler—to explore the realities of Interpol red notices, in this week's NLJ
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] has upended assumptions about who may conduct litigation, warn Kevin Latham and Fraser Barnstaple of Kings Chambers in this week's NLJ. But is it as catastrophic as first feared?
Lord Sales has been appointed to become the Deputy President of the Supreme Court after Lord Hodge retires at the end of the year
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are reportedly in the firing line in Chancellor Rachel Reeves upcoming Autumn budget
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