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Administrative Law
Michael Head makes administrative law intelligible, intellectually satisfying and even enjoyable. Head reviews administrative law with a keen critical eye to its historical, political, economic, social and governmental context.
352 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2005
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December 18, 2013
This book is written as a text for students and although it is a companion text to the commonly prescribed text Douglas and Jones’ Administrative Law, can be used as a standalone text, albeit one that would be without many reproductions from key cases. For reasons that will (hopefully) be clear, this text is also useful to practitioners, whether for those heavily involved in the area or those wanting to keep abreast of current developments.
I first studied administrative law in my second year of university. I was concurrently leaning contract law, and had completed units in the Australian legal system, research and writing, torts and criminal law. I thus came to administrative law with little legal knowledge and a commensurate limited life experience. What fixed time the course was allocated and the necessary limitations of what could be taught to a class of largely undergraduate students in what is a challenging area even for practitioners was abruptly displayed during my exam preparation, in which concepts I believed I understood were shaken and at times hastily relearnt after many discussions and debates with fellow students. If only I had a text such as this to guide me in my understanding.
Professor Head not only clearly sets out the law in a very readable way, with concepts covered and explained, but also when required places it within its context. It must be remembered that it could be argued that administrative law developed from constitutional law, with early textbooks covering both subjects together with administrative law a small part, until administrative law developed to such an extent to warrant separate (although interrelated, as all aspects of law largely are) consideration and study. Of particular note are that notable cases have both factual and legal aspects set out and explained, and there is also a look at the practical effect of various cases in terms of what happened after the case was heard. This is particularly praiseworthy as the ultimate aim of engaging with administrative law is not to receive a judgment to further develop administrative law but to reach a positive outcome for one’s client.
Additionally, Professor Head not only sets out what the law is but places it within a larger context and carefully critiques various aspects of it in a way understandable for students. In this way, he shows administrative law to not merely be a set of rules to be applied, but demonstrates how the rules come about and the administrative law’s interaction, sometimes uneasily, with, amongst other things, constitutional law and concepts of ministerial and bureaucratic accountability in the Australian Westminster system.
The law is stated as attempting to be correct as at 1 March 2012. As with many areas of law, administrative law has developed since then (see for example Wingfoot Australia Partners Pty Ltd v Kocak [2013] HCA 43 and Plaintiff M76-2013 v Minister for Immigration, Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship [2013] HCA 53) and those reading the text are advised, as with all legal texts, to be aware of this inherent limitation.
Lest it is said that I universally loved the book, I must point out my minor irritation at what I perceived to be little quasi sotto-voce comments inserted in certain descriptions of cases or situations. These appear to reveal some of Professor Head’s personal opinions about certain matters and, in my opinion, do not add anything to the book. However, this is likely to be a matter of personal taste that some others may not notice or even care about, and does not affect the substance of the text.
Of all compulsory units in a law degree/juris doctorate, administrative law is an area of law that affects everyone, for everyone is impacted by decisions made by those exercising administrative decision making power – government departments, applications of policy by government agencies etc. Both students and practitioners can get a lot out of this clear, concise and interesting presentation of administrative law. I commend Professor Head for this clear, concise and very readable text.
I first studied administrative law in my second year of university. I was concurrently leaning contract law, and had completed units in the Australian legal system, research and writing, torts and criminal law. I thus came to administrative law with little legal knowledge and a commensurate limited life experience. What fixed time the course was allocated and the necessary limitations of what could be taught to a class of largely undergraduate students in what is a challenging area even for practitioners was abruptly displayed during my exam preparation, in which concepts I believed I understood were shaken and at times hastily relearnt after many discussions and debates with fellow students. If only I had a text such as this to guide me in my understanding.
Professor Head not only clearly sets out the law in a very readable way, with concepts covered and explained, but also when required places it within its context. It must be remembered that it could be argued that administrative law developed from constitutional law, with early textbooks covering both subjects together with administrative law a small part, until administrative law developed to such an extent to warrant separate (although interrelated, as all aspects of law largely are) consideration and study. Of particular note are that notable cases have both factual and legal aspects set out and explained, and there is also a look at the practical effect of various cases in terms of what happened after the case was heard. This is particularly praiseworthy as the ultimate aim of engaging with administrative law is not to receive a judgment to further develop administrative law but to reach a positive outcome for one’s client.
Additionally, Professor Head not only sets out what the law is but places it within a larger context and carefully critiques various aspects of it in a way understandable for students. In this way, he shows administrative law to not merely be a set of rules to be applied, but demonstrates how the rules come about and the administrative law’s interaction, sometimes uneasily, with, amongst other things, constitutional law and concepts of ministerial and bureaucratic accountability in the Australian Westminster system.
The law is stated as attempting to be correct as at 1 March 2012. As with many areas of law, administrative law has developed since then (see for example Wingfoot Australia Partners Pty Ltd v Kocak [2013] HCA 43 and Plaintiff M76-2013 v Minister for Immigration, Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship [2013] HCA 53) and those reading the text are advised, as with all legal texts, to be aware of this inherent limitation.
Lest it is said that I universally loved the book, I must point out my minor irritation at what I perceived to be little quasi sotto-voce comments inserted in certain descriptions of cases or situations. These appear to reveal some of Professor Head’s personal opinions about certain matters and, in my opinion, do not add anything to the book. However, this is likely to be a matter of personal taste that some others may not notice or even care about, and does not affect the substance of the text.
Of all compulsory units in a law degree/juris doctorate, administrative law is an area of law that affects everyone, for everyone is impacted by decisions made by those exercising administrative decision making power – government departments, applications of policy by government agencies etc. Both students and practitioners can get a lot out of this clear, concise and interesting presentation of administrative law. I commend Professor Head for this clear, concise and very readable text.
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