Section 10
Administrative law
10.4: Courts
Barry Hough, LL.M., Lecturer in Law, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
The law governing entitlement to legal redress for interference with use of the
highway is far from clear and appears to be unduly restrictive. It is also important to
differentiate between different remedies in determining the availability or otherwise of
redress to a particular complainant.
David Braham Q.C.
Case Report
The Beresford Trustees v. Secretary of State for the Environment and Cumbria County
Council
The outcome in this appeal turned on differences between the ways in which Owen J. and the
Court of Appeal approached the conflicting evidence which had been given at the local
inquiry into a modification order adding a footpath to the definitive map.
Prof. Emeritus Keith Davies, J.P., M.A., LL.M., Barrister, Hon.Assoc.R.I.C.S
Among public law cases are some whose title clearly identifies a claimant and a
defendant, but in which as a matter of form either the Attorney-General or the Crown
apparently brought the proceedings ‘ex rel.’ or ‘ex parte’ on the true
claimant’s behalf. This article examines the evolution of this cryptic terminology,
and the abandonment of ‘ex parte’ in modern cases.
10.5: Public inquiries
Ross Crail, Barrister
A case note
The scope of an inquiry held under paragraph 8 of Schedule 15 to the Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981 is limited to those parts of the order to which the modification
proposals relate. If fresh evidence or argument about other parts of the order is
canvassed, the proper course is for it to be set down in writing so that consideration can
be given to re-opening the original paragraph 7 inquiry, that being the correct forum in
which to raise it.
10.6: Ombudsman
D. C. M. Yardley, LL.D., D.Phil., Chairman of the
Commission for Local Administration in England
The Commission for Local Administration deals with complaints of maladministration
against local authorities, including situations involving rights of way. In this article
the Chairman of the Commission explains the work of his office, which is concerned with
the morality of local government activities, in their impact upon customers, rather than
with legality. The Chairman also outlines the kinds of approach which authorities should
adopt in order to promote good administration and avoid complaints.
Mark Heath, LL.B.(Hons), Principal Solicitor, Southampton City Council
The Commission for Local Administration (or Local
Government Ombudsman, as the body is more colloquially known) is a creature of statute.
The Local Government Act 1974 introduced the concept, and there are currently three
commissioners in England and one in Wales.
This article outlines the duties and functions of the
Ombudsman and concludes by considering three of his published reports into complaints
dealing with rights of way matters.
Practice and Precedent
Public Inquiries
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