Question
The coursework question is in three parts. You must ensure you address all three parts.
‘The Secretary of State must be free to give full weight to foreign policy considerations, which are not justiciable. However, that does not mean the whole process is immune from judicial scrutiny.
’ per Lord Phillips, R (on the application of Abbasi) & Another v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs & Secretary of State for the Home Department [2002] EWCA Civ 1598, at para 99
1. Explain the origins and nature of prerogative power as a source of UK constitutional law and practice (500 words);
2. Evaluate how the Court of Appeal in Abbasi balanced on the one hand foreign policy considerations and on the other hand the need to control discretionary power. Do you believe that they got the balance correct, and why do you take that view? (1,000 words).
3. Evaluate what the judgments of the Courts in Abbasi and other cases on the royal prerogative in foreign policy and defence demonstrate about the Courts’ approach to separation of powers. (1,000 words).
