Administrative Law - Week 8	Alternatives to the Courts - Ombudsmen & Tribunals	Hilary 2002
Introduction	In week 1 we reached some provisional conclusions on how far it was desirable to control public power and to hold accountable public officials and bodies. And throughout the subsequent course we’ve caught glimpses of the limits on the capacity of courts to achieve all that we want by way of control and accountability. This week we look at how far two other institutions can assist. NB Despite the title to this week’s list, it is best not to consider these institutions solely as ‘alternatives’ to the courts. They may also be valuable as ‘supplements’ to the courts.
The Texts	*Cane, Chs. 17, 18 & 19 Birkinshaw, Grievances, Remedies & the State (2nd ed. 1994), Ch. 1
Why do we need alternatives?	Cranston, Essay 3 in G. Richardson & H. Genn eds., Administrative Law & Government Action (1994) Cane, Ch. 21 (optional) Harlow & Rawlings, Law & Administration (2^nd ed.), Ch. 17
The PCA (Ombudsman)	Craig, pp. 230-248 (*)Harlow & Rawlings, Law & Administration (2^nd ed.), Chs. 12 & 13 Birkinshaw, Ch. 5 Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 (as amended) Cabinet Office Review of Public Sector Ombudsmen (April 2000) – http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/central/2000/ombudsmenreview.pdf
	Articles (select from) G. Drewry, Ch. 4 in P. Leyland & T. Woods, Administrative Law Facing the Future (Blackstone, 1997) P. Giddings, Ch. 8 in D. Oliver & G. Drewry, The Law and Parliament (Butterworths, 1998) P. Giddings [1999] Public Law 200 [Health Service Ombudsmen]
	Cases R v. PCA ex p. Dyer [1994] 1 WLR 621 R v PCA ex p. Balchin [1997] C.O.D. 146; (1996) EGCS 166 Balchin (No. 2) (1999) EGCS 78 R v Parl’ary Commr for Standards ex p Al Fayed [1998] 1 All ER 93 R v LCA ex p Liverpool City Council [2001] 1 All ER 462 R v Local Government Ombudsman ex p Hughes [2001] ACD 492 R v Local Government Ombudsman ex p Turpin [2001] ACD 498
	Important sources http://www.ombudsman.org.uk [For recent reports by the PCA etc.] http://www.intervid.co.uk/bioa [British & Irish Ombudsman Association]
Tribunals	Craig, pp. 249-268 or Wade, Ch. 23 (*)Harlow & Rawlings, Law and Administration (2^nd ed.), Ch. 14 (*)Beatson & Matthews, Ch. 16 Tribunals & Inquiries Act 1992 Hazel Genn, Ch. 11 in H. Richardson & Genn, Administrative Law & Government Action (1994) * Report of the Review of Tribunals by Sir Andrew Leggatt: Tribunals for Users - One System, One Service [published 16 August 2001] at http://www.tribunals-review.org.uk
	If you choose essay (b) you will want to research the working of some tribunals in detail. Leggatt’s Report considers a wide range in detail – NB concentrate on tribunals that are concerned with public functions(!). Perhaps consider looking at e.g. Child Support (on which G. Davis, Wikeley, Young and Barron, Child Support in Action (1998) is useful, though NB recent reforms); or e.g. Mental Health Review Tribunals (see, Richardson and Machin [2000] Public Law 494).
Strategic guidance	I am assuming that you will use the casebooks – preferably Harlow & Rawlings – and the government websites this week. Both contain valuable material which might otherwise be difficult to track down.. Don’t neglect the Acts. Don’t become vague and waffle-bound. Exam candidates (especially the weaker ones?) seem keen to answer questions on subjects like the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Tribunals. But it is easy to spot the worst answers, since they don’t contain any reference to what the statutes actually say or any examples of how these bodies work in action.! For the PCA know about e.g. Barlow Clowes, Channel Tunnel, etc. NB To do the essay really well you’ll want to revisit the very first week’s work, e.g. Modernising Government
Essay Title:	Essay: Choose (a) OR (b) (a) Are ombudsmen the answer to any of the problems with judicial supervision of administration? (b) Are tribunals the answer to any of the problems with judicial supervision of administration?
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