Judicial Review Flowchart

Faced with a problem question in a law exam about whether Judicial Review can be used? This flowchart suggests a logical approach to structuring your answer.

(click on the image for a full sized version)

Revision - Enforcing Rights arising in EU Law

Another "golden oldie" video - which will be relevant if you have exams coming up involving EU Law (such as the Open University's W200 course)





I also have a flow diagram which sets out the steps to answer any problem based upon the issue of whether a right can be enforced? and if so how? (A very frequent exam question in almost all EU Law courses)

(click on image for full size version)

Revision for Constitutional Law - Dicey on Parliamentary Sovereignty

A couple of years ago (doesn't it show!) I recorded three short videos on the subject of Dicey and his explanation of Parliamentary Sovereignty (or 'supremacy').

If you are revising for an exam in which Parliamentary Sovereignty may make an appearance (such as the Open University's W200 or W201 courses - or Constitutional Law at degree level) - these videos may assist your revision.

Please use - or share this post with people who might find it useful. It is also of course relevant to the debate around the EU Referendum.

The Queen's Speech

The Queen's Speech has been delivered. It's significance is that a new Session has begun. Unless a General Election intervenes, (and after the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011, that is very unlikely) the session will last until May next year.

Once sessions were almost watertight, only in a very few circumstances would a bill remain alive after the session ended. Now there are a number of "carry over" bills - which survive from the 2015-16 Session and will continue in the new session. Soon "Sessional Returns" will be produced, which give valuable data about the work (and effectiveness) of the last session. Academics studying Parliament (myself included) find these a valuable tool - they can be accessed here.

The other significance is that the Government (the 'Executive' part of government) has put forward its legislative agenda. Over the next few days some of those promised bills will be introduced and published. Some will be held back until later in the session. There is no requirement for the government to deliver its planned agenda - circumstances may change - less time might be available than planned for, and new legislation may be introduced to respond to events which occur.

To read about the Government's plans you can visit https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/queens-speech-2016  - and of course the newspapers and the broadcasting organisations have analysis and comment on their online sites.

W200 Revision Outline

For any students of the Open University's W200 "Understanding Law" course - I have recorded my presentation setting out the key topics in the course - and highlighting those areas which merit especial attention.

The two keys to revision are

* Connecting                               and
* Condensing

These slides give an overview of the course - so note how the different elements of the course fit into a structure - essentially
- English Legal System
- Constitutional Law
- Human Rights
- Criminal Law
- Obligations (sometimes referred to as the two related subjects of 'Contract' & 'Tort'
- EU Law - the structure of the institutions and EU Legal System (Institutions; Court Actions; Enforcing Rights in EU Law)
- EU Law on Free Movement of Goods & Persons; Competition Law; Social Policy

make the connections. Spider grams (MindMaps) can help here.

For the bullet points in the slides - can you briefly state the key information - in a condensed form - for example - what are
* Dicey's three points on Parliamentary Sovereignty (Supremacy)
* the requirements for a right arising in EU Law to have - direct effect; indirect effect; state liability
* what are the key elements in justifying national rules which might appear to hinder the free movements?


(double click if you can't see the full slide)