Public Law and Human Rights

UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN

SCHOOL OF LAW

SESSION 2013-2014

PUBLIC LAW & HUMAN RIGHTS (LS1521) DEGREE EXAMINATION

FRIDAY, 30th MAY 2014           3.00 PM – 5.00 PM

The paper is divided into two parts.   You are required to answer THREE questions in total.   TWO questions must be from Part A and ONE question must be from Part B.   Each question is of equal weight.   Students may not bring any materials into the examination with the exception of ERASMUS students, who may consult non-electronic language dictionaries.

PART A

1. ‘It cannot be too strongly emphasised that the British Constitution, though largely unwritten, is firmly based on the separation of powers: Parliament makes the laws, the judiciary interprets them’.   (Lord Diplock, Dupont Steels Ltd and others v Sirs and others [1980] 1 All ER 529).   Discuss.

1. Is it satisfactory that the relationship between the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments depends to such a great extent on constitutional conventions?

1. What is the rule of law?   What practical difference does this principle make to the operation of the British constitution?

1.  ‘Parliament is no longer sovereign, a fact made clear by the Factortame decisions, and confirmed by subsequent developments’.   Discuss.

1. Are there prerogative powers the exercise of which courts cannot and should not review?

1. Describe the statutory controls on the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament set out in the Scotland Act 1998.   What are the legal consequences of the Parliament legislating on a matter outside its legislative competence?

PART B

1. The Human Rights Act limits the power of public authorities to act in ways which violate Convention rights. How does it do this?  What types of public authority are covered by its controls?  

1. Describe the reasoning and judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Sahin v Turkey (2005), concerning the claim that banning Muslim women from wearing the veil is a violation of Article 9, ECHR.  What approach did the UK House of Lords (now Supreme Court) take to the question of restrictions on religious dress in the case of the school student in R (Begum) v Denbigh High School [2006] UKHL 15?

1. “The right to protest is a fundamental political liberty.   The Human Rights Act provides insufficient protection for that freedom.”   Discuss, commenting on the difficulties facing protestors who may seek to use Article 5 and Article 11, ECHR to challenge the actions of the police or local councils which restrict their right to protest.  

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