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Welcome to the Public Law, Regulatory Law, and Human Rights department

Welcome to our Public and Regulatory Law team, part of the Civil Department which also covers housing, community care, education, employment, welfare benefits, and debt.

What we do in the Public Law team

Public law is about people challenging unlawful decisions, policies, and practices of public bodies. That includes challenges against councils, government departments, health authorities, and so on.

 It also includes regulatory proceedings and statutory appeals (including , CQC, CSCI, CSIW, GDC, GMC, GOC, GSCC, GTC, HPC, NMC, RCVS); medical and health care law, professional conduct law, coroner's inquests. It includes the CST (Care Standards Tribunal) and challenges against PoVA, PoCA, and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).  Legal Aid may be available.

We can help to pursue complaints procedures and to seek a remedy through the Ombudsman where appropriate.

We frequently apply to the Administrative Court (part of the High Court) for Judicial Review of public bodies.

Often, the challenge is against authorities that don’t follow proper procedures or where relevant information is ignored.

Many cases include the application of the Human Rights Act. We have brought numerous successful challenges where we have used the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Human Rights Act, to protect our clients' fundamental rights.

We are experienced public law practitioners, particularly in the fields of housing, trespass, Gypsy and Travellers’ rights, planning, social security, education, medical and health regulation, and community care.

Emergency action is often needed to protect our clients’ rights, for example to avoid homelessness.

We can help people who seek to defend their homes and communities facing clearance, demolition, and compulsory purchase orders.We can help people who have been struck off by their professional regulatory bodies or barred from working with vulnerable adults of children by PoVA, PoCA, ISA.

We are on the panel for referrals from the Environmental Law Foundation.

We have assisted with the development of indigenous people internationally.

We have challenged decisions of Coroners by Judicial Review.

We advise and assist national charities in charity law issues.

Our public law and human rights work is invariably linked to the other specialist areas of work we do, such as housing, education, welfare benefits and debt, employment, and community care.

Some examples of our work:

  • Judicial Review of refusal by housing authorities to deal with homelessness applications or to provide temporary accommodation
  • Judicial Review of independent appeal panel decisions on permanent exclusion of children from school, and on admissions to school.
  • Judicial Review of failure by social services to carry out community care assessments, or to prepare care plans and provide for people’s needs.
  • Judicial Review of decisions by local authorities to evict people, and to ensure human rights and welfare needs are considered

  • Judicial Review of Corner's verdicts and inquests

  • Statutory appeals against planning enforcement, and professional regulatory bodies such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Medical Council.

  • Representation at Tribunals such as the First-Tier Tribunal (Care Standards).

     

  • Claim to the European Court of Human Rights against prison authority for breach of fundamental rights (Article 3), and claim for damages.
  • Judicial Review of government policy as to the rights of partners as carers (breach Article 8).
  • Judicial Review of the DWP to challenge discrimination in entitlement to welfare benefits.
  • Judicial Review of local council for unlawful administration of disability grants scheme for aids and adaptations.
  • Claim to European Court of Human Rights for declaration and damages for unlawful eviction and breaches of Article 8.
  • Claim to the House of Lords that everyone’s individual welfare needs should be respected whether they live in a house, a flat, or are Gypsies or Travellers living in a caravan.
  • High Court actions in support of local communities in planning matters, opposing demolition and compulsory purchase orders (CPO), for example in Lancashire, Liverpool, and the East Riding.
  • High Court appeal for parent prosecuted for child not attending school.