Constitutional Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Constitutional Law - Essay Example â€Å"†¦courts to grapple with justifications for rights and freedoms, taking a more philosophical approach to legal reasoning as they attempt to resolve conflicts between individual rights and competing societal and individual interests.†2 While the Human Rights Act 1998 did not officially implement a UK Bill of Rights it did indorse Convention Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.3 By the time the Human Rights Act 1998 came into effect in October 2000 the UK judiciary had already become accustomed to the application of Convention Rights as a Member State to the European Community.4 However as Fenwick, Phillipson and Masterman observe: â€Å"†¦at the same time they were proud of their long-established common law and constitutional traditions, including deference to parliament and to the executive in judicial review cases, as manifested in the Wednesbury doctrine.†5 The Wednesbury doctrine is the approach adapted by the courts in respect of judicial review in Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v.Wednesbury Corporation [1948] 1 KB 223. In this case it was held that the applicant for judicial review is required to satisfy the court that no reasonable public official would have reached the conclusion that the official under review came to.6 Moreover, the court went on to state that it will not stand in an appellate position to overrule an official decision it will only stand as a judicial authority to determine whether or not the public official offended the law in its abuse of authority.7 While the judiciary maintains that the Wednesbury doctrine remains a guiding principle the courts have displayed a willingness to depart from this strict doctrine and to loosen the grip of judicial deference. This deference has never been more significant than it has in recent years with respect to legislative changes calculated to counter modern threats of terrorism.