Until now the Crown has remained a somewhat elusive concept receiving surprisingly little attention from constitutional lawyers, considering it represents the legal and political structure of the state. During a period of political transformation in the UK, on the one hand being devolved (e.g. the Scottish Parliament) and on the other being absorbed into the European Union, this is a timely book which explores the central power of the state in its legal and political context. This book draws together a unique collection of essays written by experienced academics and practitioners that explores what the Crown is, or might be, in contemporary theory and practice and the critical issues relating to it.

Landmark Cases in Public Law answers the need for an historical examination of the leading cases in this field, an examination which is largely absent from the standard textbooks and journal articles of the day. Adopting a contextualised historical approach, this collection of essays by leading specialists in the field provides both an explanation of the importance and impact of the chosen decisions, as well as doctrinal analysis. This approach enables each author to throw light on the driving forces behind the judicial outcomes, and shows how the final reasoning of the court was ultimately as much dependent upon such human factors as the attitudes, conduct, and personalities of the parties, their witnesses, their counsel, and the judges, as the drive to seek legal realignment with the political developments that were widely perceived to be taking place. In this way, this form of analysis provides an exposition of the true stories behind these landmark cases in public law.

Public Law: Text, Cases, and Materials offers a fresh approach to the study of constitutional and administrative law by exploring how the law works in practice. The inclusion of extracts from key cases, government reports and academic articles demonstrates the law in action and the incisive commentary that accompanies them explains the significance of each. The expert authors have distilled their knowledge of the institutions and legal principles into concise, focused prose, and they encourage reflection through regular questions and hypothetical examples. This leading text provides students with a thorough and wide-ranging knowledge of public law, together with a full understanding of the theoretical and political debates in this fascinating and dynamic area of law. Digital formats and resources The fifth edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources. - The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks - The online resources that support the book include multiple-choice questions with answer feedback for students to test their understanding

Landmark Cases in Public Law answers the need for an historical examination of the leading cases in this field, an examination which is largely absent from the standard textbooks and journal articles of the day. Adopting a contextualised historical approach, this collection of essays by leading specialists in the field provides both an explanation of the importance and impact of the chosen decisions, as well as doctrinal analysis. This approach enables each author to throw light on the driving forces behind the judicial outcomes, and shows how the final reasoning of the court was ultimately as much dependent upon such human factors as the attitudes, conduct, and personalities of the parties, their witnesses, their counsel, and the judges, as the drive to seek legal realignment with the political developments that were widely perceived to be taking place. In this way, this form of analysis provides an exposition of the true stories behind these landmark cases in public law.