LAWS 561/461 The Scope of Public Law: Exploring the Public-Private Divide

Laws 561 = 20 pts, 1/3

Laws 461 = 8 pts, 1/3

Dean Knight

The difference between ‘public’ and ‘private’ is fundamental to the discipline of public and administrative law, but is a much vexed divide. On the one hand, much of the scope of public and
administrative law is defined by the presence of public — not private — actors, functions or effects. Principles and doctrines have been developed to respond differently due to their special
‘publicness’. On the other hand, our system of public law is in part predicated on the equality principle (that is, the same laws should apply to both the governed and the governors) and some
argue the values underlying public law are the same that apply to private law. This seminar allows students to explore various subjects interrogating the public-private divide (from either angle), such as the scope of judicial review, the application of the Bill of Rights, the application of public law principles to private bodies, state privatisation and the spill-over of public law principles into private law and vice versa.

Timetable Information