Public

A recent case has provided a timely reminder of the key ingredients of the tort of misfeasance in public office: Nicholas Dobson reports

A flurry of public law cases probes the reach of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In NLJ this week, the public law team at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer charts decisions from sanctions licensing to the Windrush Compensation Scheme

From sanctions to Windrush & national security: the latest human rights & judicial review cases, rounded up by the team at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

David Locke on Lord Mandelson, the Epstein files & the court of popular opinion

As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’

Persistence pays (eventually): Dominic Regan charts the course of a long-running David vs Goliath story

Are chief constables vicariously liable for the actions of their officers & staff? Neil Parpworth examines the case law

Can a chief constable be held responsible for disobedient officers? Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth, professor of public law at De Montfort University, examines a Court of Appeal ruling that answers firmly: yes

The UK Supreme Court may be deciding fewer cases, but its impact in 2025 was anything but muted. In this week's NLJ, Professor Emeritus Brice Dickson of Queen’s University Belfast reviews a year marked by historically low output, a striking rise in jointly authored judgments, and a continued decline in dissent. High-profile rulings on biological sex under the Equality Act, public access to Dartmoor, and fairness in sexual offence trials ensured the court’s voice carried far beyond the Strand

Quieter court, louder consequences? Brice Dickson analyses the output of the Supreme Court in 2025