This chapter provides an overview of the most fundamental aspects of public law, introducing the key institutions, principles, and practices that characterise the constitutional arrangements of the UK. The two main parts of public law are constitutional law and administrative law. Constitutional law is concerned with the overall constitutional structure by which a country is governed. Administrative law is concerned with the law, legal principles, and mechanisms used to check and control the exercise of governmental power. Public law is concerned with three things: public institutions; constitutional principles; and constitutional practices, that is, how those public institutions and constitutional principles work in practice.<\/p>","DOI":"10.1093\/he\/9780192862631.003.0001","type":"book-chapter","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,10]],"date-time":"2024-09-10T07:18:06Z","timestamp":1725952686000},"page":"3-25","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["1. Public Law\u2014An Introduction"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"given":"Mark","family":"Elliott","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Thomas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8]]},"container-title":["Public Law"],"original-title":["1. Public Law\u2014An Introduction"],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.oxfordlawtrove.com\/display\/10.1093\/he\/9780192862631.001.0001\/he-9780192862631-chapter-1","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,10]],"date-time":"2024-09-10T07:18:07Z","timestamp":1725952687000},"score":17.041424,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.oxfordlawtrove.com\/display\/10.1093\/he\/9780192862631.001.0001\/he-9780192862631-chapter-1"}},"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,23]]},"ISBN":["9780192862631","9780191953682"],"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/he\/9780192862631.003.0001","published":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,23]]}},{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,12]],"date-time":"2024-05-12T00:39:44Z","timestamp":1715474384314},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Oxford University Press","isbn-type":[{"value":"9780198836742","type":"print"},{"value":"9780191873782","type":"electronic"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,9]]},"abstract":"
This chapter provides an overview of public law, introducing the key institutions, principles, and practices that characterise the constitutional arrangements of the United Kingdom.<\/p>","DOI":"10.1093\/he\/9780198836742.003.0001","type":"book-chapter","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,9,1]],"date-time":"2020-09-01T05:39:08Z","timestamp":1598938748000},"page":"3-16","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["1. Public Law\u2014An Introduction"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"given":"Mark","family":"Elliott","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Thomas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,9]]},"container-title":["Public Law"],"original-title":["1. Public Law\u2014An Introduction"],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.oxfordlawtrove.com\/view\/10.1093\/he\/9780198836742.001.0001\/he-9780198836742-chapter-1?print=pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,6]],"date-time":"2022-07-06T01:46:33Z","timestamp":1657071993000},"score":17.039318,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.oxfordlawtrove.com\/view\/10.1093\/he\/9780198836742.001.0001\/he-9780198836742-chapter-1"}},"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,9]]},"ISBN":["9780198836742","9780191873782"],"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/he\/9780198836742.003.0001","published":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,9]]}},{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,28]],"date-time":"2025-07-28T21:09:21Z","timestamp":1753736961222},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Oxford University Press","isbn-type":[{"value":"9780198765899","type":"print"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,9]]},"abstract":"
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This introductory chapter provides an overview of the idea and importance of constitutions. A constitution is essentially a rulebook for how a state is run, and its function is to impose order and stability; to allocate power, rights, and responsibility; and control the power of the state. Indeed, a state\u2019s constitution sets out the structure and powers of government and the relationship between individuals and the state, and a balanced constitution ensures a balance of power between the institutions of government. New constitutions can arise either through a process of evolution or as an act of deliberate creation. The chapter then considers the UK constitution. Public law is a fundamentally important part of the UK\u2019s national law and is the law about government and public administration. It places limitations on the power of the state through objective, independent controls. It is also known as \u2018constitutional and administrative law\u2019.<\/p>","DOI":"10.1093\/he\/9780198903420.003.0001","type":"book-chapter","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,29]],"date-time":"2024-08-29T09:47:20Z","timestamp":1724924840000},"page":"3-23","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["1. Introducing constitutions and public law"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"given":"Anne","family":"Dennett","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8]]},"container-title":["Public Law Directions"],"original-title":["1. 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A constitution is essentially a rulebook for how a state is run, and its function is to impose order and stability; to allocate power, rights, and responsibility; and control the power of the state. Indeed, a state\u2019s constitution sets out the structure and powers of government and the relationship between individuals and the state, and a balanced constitution ensures a balance of power between the institutions of government. New constitutions can arise either through a process of evolution or as an act of deliberate creation. The chapter then considers the UK constitution. Public law is a fundamentally important part of the UK\u2019s national law and is the law about government and public administration. It places limitations on the power of the state through objective, independent controls. It is also known as \u2018constitutional and administrative law\u2019.<\/p>","DOI":"10.1093\/he\/9780198870579.003.0001","type":"book-chapter","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,1]],"date-time":"2021-09-01T08:59:24Z","timestamp":1630486764000},"page":"3-23","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["1. Introducing constitutions and public law"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"given":"Anne","family":"Dennett","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9]]},"container-title":["Public Law Directions"],"original-title":["1. Introducing constitutions and public law"],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.oxfordlawtrove.com\/display\/10.1093\/he\/9780198870579.001.0001\/he-9780198870579-chapter-1","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,19]],"date-time":"2023-10-19T17:46:24Z","timestamp":1697737584000},"score":16.819748,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.oxfordlawtrove.com\/view\/10.1093\/he\/9780198870579.001.0001\/he-9780198870579-chapter-1"}},"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,8]]},"ISBN":["9780198870579","9780191912863"],"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/he\/9780198870579.003.0001","published":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,8]]}},{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,3]],"date-time":"2022-08-03T04:46:56Z","timestamp":1659502016577},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Oxford University Press","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,8]]},"abstract":" The chapter analyses the historical significance of the distinction between public and private law. Despite the precise and remote Roman origins, it was only at the beginning of the nineteenth century that such distinction became a crucial dichotomy in continental Europe, thanks to Kant\u2019s and Savigny\u2019s theoretical premises. Until then, public law had been following very different paths. In France, in the sixteenth century, public law ran parallel to the evolution of the national state; in Germany, the parallelism was with the Holy Roman Empire, despite its progressive decline. In Italy, the term \u2018public law\u2019 emerged only at the end of the eighteenth century, almost at the same time of the rift caused by the French Revolution. In England, the development of individual rights between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries gave way to modern constitutionalism, but at the same time made common law intrinsically immune to the private\u2013public law dichotomy.<\/p>","DOI":"10.1093\/oxfordhb\/9780198785521.013.30","type":"book","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,9]],"date-time":"2018-08-09T07:50:27Z","timestamp":1533801027000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Public Law before \u2018Public Law\u2019"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"given":"Bernardo","family":"Sordi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"286","container-title":["Oxford Handbooks Online"],"original-title":["Public Law before \u2018Public Law\u2019"],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,2]],"date-time":"2022-08-02T17:09:12Z","timestamp":1659460152000},"score":16.799114,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/edited-volume\/27972\/chapter\/211615981"}},"editor":[{"given":"Heikki","family":"Pihlajam\u00e4ki","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Markus D.","family":"Dubber","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Mark","family":"Godfrey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,8]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/oxfordhb\/9780198785521.013.30","published":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,8]]}},{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,10]],"date-time":"2024-05-10T18:20:48Z","timestamp":1715365248967},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Oxford University Press","isbn-type":[{"value":"9780198807315","type":"print"},{"value":"9780191845116","type":"electronic"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,1]]},"abstract":" This introductory chapter provides an overview of the idea and importance of constitutions. 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It is also known as \u2018constitutional and administrative law\u2019.<\/p>","DOI":"10.1093\/he\/9780198807315.003.0001","type":"book-chapter","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,23]],"date-time":"2019-08-23T14:35:04Z","timestamp":1566570904000},"page":"3-24","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["1. Introducing constitutions and public law"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"given":"Anne","family":"Dennett","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,9]]},"container-title":["Public Law Directions"],"original-title":["1. 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