Public Law - Areas of Public Law

Areas of Public Law

• Constitutional law deals with the relationship between the state and individual, and the relationships between different branches of the state, such as the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. In most legal systems, these relationships are specified within a written constitutional document. However, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), due to historical and political reasons there does not exist one supreme, entrenched written document. The UK has an unwritten constitution—the constitution of this state is usually found in statutes, such as the Magna Carta (see Holt, J.C., Magna Carta, 2nd edition 1992), the Petition of Right, the Bill of Rights, The Act of Settlement 1700 and the Parliament Act 1911 and Parliament Act 1949. The constitution is also found in case-law, such as the historical decision in Entick v. Carrington (1765) 19 St Tr 1030, and the landmark decision of M v. Home Office 1 AC 377; QB 270. Due to the lack of a written constitution, the idea of the legislative supremacy of Parliament and the rule of law play an important role in the constitution (see A. V. Dicey, The Law of the Constitution (ed. E. C. S. Wade), 10th edition, 1959). Despite all this, in reality, much of the constitution is a political phenomenon, rather than a legal one.

• Administrative law refers to the body of law which regulates bureaucratic managerial procedures and defines the powers of administrative agencies. These laws are enforced by the executive branch of a government rather than the judicial or legislative branches (if they are different in that particular jurisdiction). This body of law regulates international trade, manufacturing, pollution, taxation, and the like. This is sometimes seen as a subcategory of civil law and sometimes seen as public law as it deals with regulation and public institutions.

• Criminal law involves the state imposing sanctions for defined crimes committed by individuals or businesses, so that society can achieve its brand of justice and a peaceable social order. This differs from civil law in that civil actions are disputes between two parties that are not of significant public concern.