Leading Works in Public Law: de Smith’s Judicial Review of Administrative Action (Stevens & Sons, London, 1959)

I have uploaded my chapter for Leading Works in Public Law to SSRN. Here is the abstract:

In his classic text, Judicial Review of Administrative Action, Professor de Smith drew out from the prerogative writs a body of general principles relating to judicial review of administrative action.

Published in 1959, de Smith’s book wove a principled pattern from disparate strands of jurisprudence. His landmark work set the scene for the development of a common law tapestry of judicial review of administrative action, which by the end of the century had definitively replaced the earlier patchwork quilt of case law.

I begin with an introduction to the author of the text and a description of the 1959 text (“The Work”).

Subsequently, I explain the background against which the text was written (“The Context).

I then consider its importance in the development of contemporary administrative law (“The Significance”).

I conclude by considering the evolution of Judicial Review of Administrative Action in the decades after its progenitor’s death and the evolution of the law of judicial review of administrative action (“The Legacy”).

In both its creation and its evolution in the hands of others, Judicial Review of Administrative Action has been of central importance to the common law tradition of administrative law.

Download it here.

This content has been updated on January 21, 2021 at 15:34.