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SAMPLE EXAM PAPER GDL (CPE) PUBLIC LAW

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3 hours

Instructions to Candidates Answer: One question from Part A, One question from Part B AND one other question from either Part A OR Part B All questions carry equal marks. Answer each question on a separate page of the answer book. Permitted Materials: An unannotated statute book. Materials Provided: Answer Booklet

PART A

Question 1 “The constitution has evolved in a pragmatic and gradual manner over the centuries. At the Current time, however, the constitution is undergoing more major change than in previous decades.”

Hilaire Barnett ,Constitutional & Administrative Law, 12th Edition, Routledge 2017 Critically evaluate this statement, with reference to recent changes to the UK Constitution.

Question 2 “Conventions supplement the legal rules of the constitution and define the practices of the constitution.” Hillaire Barnett, Constitutional & Administrative Law 12th Edition, Routledge, 2017. Since constitutional conventions perform these vital functions, should they be codified?

Question 3 Scientists at the Central Agricultural Laboratory have been working on a genetically modified wasp, which was supposed to control pests on oat plants. Unfortunately, the wasp design has gone wrong and a particularly dangerous type of wasp, type W146, has escaped from the trial laboratory and is spreading rapidly across England. If the wasp stings someone, that person can expect to die within a few minutes. An antidote to the wasp stings has being developed, in vaccine form. There is enough antidote for about two thirds of the population. Most people are choosing to remain in their homes to avoid the wasp. The Prime Minister calls an emergency session of Parliament. Only 25 MPs are able to attend, as most are hiding in their houses, avoiding the wasps. The Prime Minster proposes a Bill, called the Wasp Crisis Management Bill, which provides as follows:

s.1 All working British citizens are to be issued with the antidote to enable them to keep on working.

The Bill is passed, without debate, by the 25 MPs who are able to attend the House of Commons. It is then passed by the House of Lords by 20 votes to 10 and receives The Royal Assent the same day. It is then immediately brought into force as The Wasp Crisis Management Act 2016.

Advise:

(a) Adam, who wishes bring an action to set aside the Act, on the grounds that it was improperly passed; (b) Bernadette, a French national working in the United Kingdom, who wishes to protest against the Act on the grounds that it interferes with her European Union right to work in the United Kingdom, because she is now unable to travel to and from work without a supply of the antidote; (c) Chan, a citizen of Vietnam, who wishes to protest against the Act on the grounds that it endangers his life, because he is likely to die without access to the antidote.

Question 4 In R. v Secretary of State for Transport Ex p. Factortame Ltd (No.2) [1990] 3 C.M.L.R. Lord Bridge held: “Whatever limitation of its sovereignty Parliament accepted when it enacted the European Communities Act 1972 was entirely voluntary.” Identify the limitations that the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union imposed on the sovereignty of its Parliament. How will this change when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union?

PART B

Question 5 Brad and Camilla are film stars who sold the exclusive rights to cover their wedding and reception, which were held in a castle in Wales, to “Hi There!” magazine. Guests were specifically requested not to take photographs. However, someone who attended the wedding did and sold several of the images to “Alright!” magazine. These included a picture of one of the bridesmaids, supermodel Delores, in a state of extreme drunkenness. Delores has built her career on her reputation for never drinking alcohol or using recreational drugs. Another of the images shows wedding guests, including best-selling author, E.F., and her two small children, Gilderoy and Hermione, sitting quietly at the wedding ceremony. Ian, a premiership footballer, attended the wedding with his brother’s wife and one of the images sold to “Alright!” depicts the two of them in a passionate embrace at the evening reception. Brad and Camilla, Delores and E.F. have all applied for injunctions to prevent publication of these images. Ian also wants to apply for a similar injunction and wants the courts to make fact that he has done so illegal to report. With reference to case law, advise the parties as to the likelihood of the success of their applications. Question 6 Critically evaluate the effect of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the protection of Human Rights in the United Kingdom. Question 7 The (fictitious) Rodent Control Act 1809 empowers local authorities to require shopkeepers to ensure their premises are free from all rodents and their droppings 48 hours after the first rodent was sighted. The Act further provides that the necessary traps, bait and poisons shall be supplied directly to the shopkeepers by the local authority and shopkeepers who ‘repeatedly and persistently’ fail to comply may be have their licence to trade revoked. There has been an explosion in the rat population in St Hamlyn and St Hamlyn City Council has already had to compensate several consumers who have bought goods that transpired to be contaminated by rat droppings and/or urine. Anxious to avoid incurring further liability, the Council is determined to keep its city free of rats. Alan owns a fancy dress boutique in north St Hamlyns. He has seen a couple of rats running through his backyard and puts out a trap. He decides that, if things get worse, he will put out the poison too. The next day he gets a letter saying the council have poisoned the rats in his yard, because he failed to do so, and he owes them £300 for providing this service.

Bonny owns a market stall in central St Hamlyns where she sells gloves. She has received a small amount of poison from the City Council but did not use it on the one occasion she was troubled by rodents. On that occasion, a family of five rats jumped out of a cardboard box under her stall. They ran around her stall for the rest of the day but then ran away and she never saw them again. She has now received a letter from the council informing her that her licence has been revoked and she may no longer trade. The letter also says she is too tall to be a market trader. Consuela has a tapas bar in St Hamlyns. There have been ten rats in her kitchen within one week, which has resulted in piles of droppings. She has not set traps or laid poison because she has not received her traps and poison from the council, despite the fact she has telephoned and emailed several times to ask for them. She, too, has received a letter from the council, demanding she pay them £2000 to indemnify them against any claims that might arise from people who eat contaminated food in her establishment, due to her failure to act. Davinder has not seen any rats in his greengrocer’s shop but there is a flock of pigeons living in and on his roof, which has resulted in a lot of noise and mess both inside and outside of his shop. The council have sent him a letter saying he has persistently failed to control the pigeons, even though he has plenty of poison, and his licence to trade will now be revoked under the Rodent Control Act 1809. Advise the parties as to whether they can use the process of judicial review to challenge these decisions on the grounds of illegality and/or irrationality.

Question 8 Following a media frenzy about the rise in childhood obesity, legislation has been passed requiring councils to consult local businesses, residents, doctors and police before issuing health certificates to all pizza restaurants, take-aways and delivery outlets. Without a certificate, such businesses must cease to trade. Luke runs a pizza take-away, ‘Bubba Fat’, which has been given glowing reviews by several food writers for its quality of service and hygiene in addition to being universally praised for its healthy menu, based on very low fat bantha mozzarella. He applies to St Jabbas City and District Council for a health certificate but his application is rejected. He appeals and is told to appear before the CDC’s Certification of 3 Types of Pizza Outlet (C3PO) Committee one week later. Luke asks for the reasons for the refusal but is told they are confidential and he must arrive two hours before the time of his hearing, when he will be given a written report of the C3PO Committee’s findings and any other relevant documentation to examine.

Luke attends the hearing with his sister, Leia, who runs a pizza restaurant that already has a health certificate. They arrive two hours before the time of the hearing and are presented with a large box file full of documents. Two hours later the clerk to the committee tells them that their hearing has been brought forward and they are taken straight to the appeal. Leia is allowed to sit with Luke but is told she cannot speak. Luke is surprised to see that the chair of the committee is Councillor Palpatine and one of its other members is Mr Vader, since it is well known that he has banned them both from Bubba Fat, because of their aggressive behaviour. The third member of the committee, Mrs Maul, owns a pizza delivery service which operates in the same area as Luke’s business. A man who Luke does not recognise gives evidence that he is a cheese delivery driver and Luke does not use bantha mozzarella on his pizzas, but very high fat wookiee cheddar. Luke is not given the opportunity to question him. The committee dismiss Luke’s appeal and give him final notice to close Bubba Fat within six weeks or face prosecution. On arriving home and examining the box file of documents, Luke discovers a leaflet detailing the code of conduct for the C3PO Committee, which states that established pizza businesses that fail to obtain a health certificate should be given a minimum of six weeks to adapt and then be reassessed before being given final notice. Examine whether Luke has any grounds to apply for judicial review, under the head of procedural impropriety.

End of examination....