Essex CAJI

The core function of public services ombuds is to investigate complaints from individuals about “maladministration” by public bodies which has caused injustice. But ombuds have developed several other important functions designed to improve people’s experiences of public services. For example, as seen in the Council of Europe’s 2019 Venice Principles, ombuds are developing a role … Continue reading →

Margaret is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Essex School of Law, and is a valued member of Essex CAJI. So we thought we would catch up with Margaret so we can share with out readers her experience as a Research Fellow and a little more about her work. Here is our interview with Margaret Doyle. Continue reading →

On 26 February 2024, Shun, based in Japan, joined us here at CAJI via Zoom for a webinar in which he presented his thought provoking ideas on the relationship between political legitimacy at State level, the legitimacy of international law, and the autonomy of the individual within political processes. Shun, through analysis of the works … Continue reading →

Administrative justice has something of an image problem, perennially cornered as dull and dusty, somehow remote from the real action, whether constitutional, political or social. For some, this is not a problem: at times, administrative justice is deliberately positioned as an antidote to politics, a safe and orderly space where ‘justice as fairness’ can float … Continue reading →

Webinar on the Legitimacy of International Law with KAKU Shun, a Professor of legal philosophy in the Faculty of Law, Waseda University. Continue reading →

Koldo Casla and Lyle Barker (University of Essex) Creating a social security system that guarantees the essentials in life, regulating for-profit children’s homes, and extending peer-parent support are among a list of recommendations researchers believe could help to eradicate the “toxic culture” of England’s Child Protection Services. The call comes from the team behind Human Rights … Continue reading →

Robert Thomas (Professor, University of Manchester) In 2021, the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman published the report of its own-initiative investigation into Personal Independence Payments (PIP). It is a huge juggernaut of a report full of meticulously detailed case-studies, findings and recommendations about the administration of PIP in Northern Ireland (NI). The Ombudsman made an … Continue reading →

As Human Rights Watch’s 2020 global report on LGBT rights illustrates, LGBT people still face significant prejudice, discrimination, and even violent persecution around the world. For LGBT people able to flee, the right to seek asylum offers the hope of safety. But under the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill – which imposes a ban on seeking … Continue reading →

Robert Thomas is a Professor of Public Law the University of Manchester One of the oldest issues with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) is the MP filter. People who want to complain to the PHSO about a government department or other public body must have their complaint referred to the ombudsman by an … Continue reading →

By Jonathan Collinson (University of Huddersfield) The government has launched a consultation on the fees payable by applicants who lodge certain kinds of appeals in the Immigration and Asylum Chambers (IAC): the administrative tribunals responsible for hearing appeals against decisions of the Home Office in immigration and asylum matters. The consultation proposes fees – payable … Continue reading →

By Robert Thomas (University of Manchester) In January 2022, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) published its report into the handling, by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), of the migration of a disability benefit claimant, Mrs U, to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). More specifically, the key issues are: (a) whether the … Continue reading →

The last several years have been busy times for public lawyers. This will continue whoever becomes Prime Minister following Boris Johnson’s resignation. It is, therefore, critical that researchers have a strong understanding of how they can best  engage with and influence politicians and policymakers, and that practitioners appreciate how litigation can best achieve practical change … Continue reading →

SEND reforms: Mandatory mediation in administrative justice The newly published and long-awaited SEND Green Paper proposes ‘strengthening redress’, including making mediation mandatory in appeals of local authority decisions on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This post explores why this proposal should be a concern to all those involved in administrative justice. Background Special educational … Continue reading →

Experiments in Automating Immigration Systems By Tatiana Kazim, Public Law Project and Equal Education Law Centre (South Africa) Governments around the world are embracing automated decision making (ADM). The potential benefits are well-rehearsed: faster, cheaper, more accurate, more consistent decision-making. Equally, the dangers posed by government ADM systems have been exposed by several high-profile scandals … Continue reading →

The Administrative Justice Council has published its April 2022 newsletter and it is available here. The AJC’s website is available here: https://ajc-justice.co.uk/ and the AJC can be followed on Twitter @ajc_justice.

Robert Thomas, University of Manchester Should people underpaid their state pensions receive not just arrears for those underpayments, but also the interest on them in order to make up for inflation? The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) thinks not, but the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) thinks they should. The recent Parliamentary and Health Service … Continue reading →

Mustaqim Iqbal (University of Oxford) and Lee Marsons (University of Essex) Reforming judicial review remedies is back on the legislative agenda. The last time similar proposals were suggested, the result was section 84 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (CJCA), which inserted section 31(2A)-(2C) and (3C)-(3F) into the Senior Courts Act 1981. This … Continue reading →

Financial Remedy Recommendations made by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Robert Thomas (University of Manchester) This blog presents some data concerning financial compensation recommendations made by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) acquired through a freedom of information request. When the PHSO makes a finding of maladministration or service failure, it will consider … Continue reading →

The Transforming Complaint Resolution website has been created by Chris Gill, Carolyn Hirst and Jane Williams. Collectively we are academics, researchers and practitioners who have an interest in complaint handling, conflict resolution, and administrative justice. Together we believe that much of the transformational potential of complaints remains unrealised and unrecognised. And our common intent is … Continue reading →

Immigration complaints (Part I) By Robert Thomas (University of Manchester) This is the first of three blogs that consider immigration complaints, an important topic of administrative justice. This first blog will examine the key trends, features, and criticisms of immigration complaints. The second blog will examine complaint outcomes and the importance of government collecting data … Continue reading →

Administrative leapfrogging – The Communities Secretary and avoiding the devolved middle-men By Lee Marsons (University of Essex) On 6 July 2021, the Local Government Association held its annual conference at which the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (hereafter ‘the Secretary of State’) delivered a keynote address. This was a speech of … Continue reading →

The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman’s Own-Initiative Investigation into Personal Independence Payments By Robert Thomas (University of Manchester) The publication of the own-initiative investigation by the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) into Personal Independence Payments (PIP) is the first such investigation anywhere in the UK. It is a matter of considerable importance. At present, … Continue reading →

Applied administrative justice research: why we all need more of it Joe Tomlinson Administrative justice research has made significant progress in illuminating the nature of administrative decision-making, redress processes, and the interface between citizen and state. While the field is now diverse, both methodologically and in terms of the subjects of study, it consists almost … Continue reading →

Given the decision of the Independent Review of Administrative Law (IRAL) not to make publicly available responses received as part of its call for evidence, UKAJI has decided to bring together in one place IRAL responses which have been made public. Should you wish to include an IRAL responses on this page, please contact Lee … Continue reading →