Best Public Law Dissertation Topics & Ideas for Students

1. The Nature and Scope of Judicial Review in Public Law

Aim: This research aims to understand the nature and range of the doctrine of judicial review for the purpose of correcting unlawful actions of public bodies.

Objectives:

To discuss the categories of the grounds for judicial review.
To assess the effectiveness of judicial review in applying the law to check on public body.
To assess recent reforms and proposals that aim to limit or enhance the judicial review process.

2. The Doctrine of Ultra Vires and its Role in Public Law

Aim: To investigate the doctrine of ultra vires, which governs the limits of power exercised by public authorities.

Objectives:

To discover what ultra vires means and how it is used.
To evaluate the extent to which courts can address the question of when an act is ultra vires.
To assess whether the ultra vires doctrine is consistent with other common principles of administrative law.

3. The Role of Human Rights in Public Law

Aim: To examine the assimilation and implementation of human rights in the sphere of public law, especially via the Human Rights Act of 1998.

Objectives:

To examine the legal framework established by the Human Rights Act.
To explore how courts interpret and apply human rights protections when reviewing public body decisions.
To evaluate the issues and criticisms of human rights law in public law.

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4. The Public Law Principle of Natural Justice

Aim: To explore the principle of natural justice and how it guarantees fairness in decision making by public authorities.

Objectives:

To address the principles of natural justice, the right to a fair hearing and the rule against bias.
To determine how courts ensure procedural fairness in public decision-making.
To examine the limitations and exceptions to the doctrine of natural justice.

5. Delegated legislation and its control as a concept in public law

Aim: To analyse what delegated legislation is and how the use of delegated legislation by public bodies can be controlled.

Objectives:

To examine the types of delegated legislation.
To examine the parliamentary and judicial checks on delegated legislation.
To assess the criticisms of delegated legislation.

6. The Ombudsman System and Accountability in Public Law

Aim: To analyse the role of the ombudsmen in the process of probing into cases of what can be regarded as administrative wrong doing and to oversee proper administration by entities of the public domain.

Objectives:

To explore the legal framework that establishes ombudsmen.
To examine the power and mechanisms of ombudsmen in the examination of complaints against public entities.
To assess the effectiveness of the ombudsman system in ensuring administrative justice.

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7. The Constitutional Status of Local Government in Public Law

Aim: To enable an analysis of the position and the constitutional status of local government within the system of public law in the UK.

Objectives:

To identify legal powers and duties of local government.
To analyse the relations between central and local governments.
To analyse the problems which local government faces.

8. Public Inquiries and Accountability in Public Law

Aim: To understand the role of public inquiries for the purpose of examining the governmental failures, and increasing accountability in public law.

Objectives:

To explore the legal framework governing public inquiries
To determine if public inquiries can effectively handle matters of interest to the public.
To evaluate the public inquiries as a tool for achieving the goals of public accountability and policy reform.

9. Public Law and the Rule of Law: A Connection

Aim: To examine the role of public law in a democratic society and its support of the rule of law.

Objectives:

To understand the main concepts of the rule of law such as legal formalism, legal responsibility, and legal equity.
To analyse the extent to which the rule of law is supported by public law principles.
To assess the threats to the rule of law arising from emergency powers, national security legislation and executive discretion.

10. Executive Power and its Limits in Public Law

Aim: To determine the extent of the power of the executive in the United Kingdom and the available legal means to regulate its activity within the framework of public law.

Objectives:

To investigate the origins of the executive power, the prerogative powers and the statutory powers.
To evaluate the legal and political restraints on the executive branch.
To assess the effects of the latest phenomena, including Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, on the growth and restraint of presidential authority.