The Impact of Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration on United Kingdom Administrative Law

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the impact of the pan-European principles of good administration on the legal system of the United Kingdom. The chapter reveals that whilst the European Convention on Human Rights, and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, have deeply impacted on domestic administrative law, the same cannot be said regarding other sources of the pan-European general principles of good administration. Furthermore, the chapter claims that the UK, as a founder member of the Council of Europe (CoE), sees itself as continuing to provide a degree of critical oversight of the CoE’s system. There is both political and legal resistance to the idea that international norms, such as those developed by the CoE, could provide a template for elements of the domestic legal order. However, the chapter concludes that in a post-Brexit UK the pan-European general principles of good administration may well take on increased significance.