Stephen Sedley practised at the English bar from 1964 to 1992 before serving as a judge of the Queen's Bench division of the High Court from 1992 to 1999 and as a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1999 to 2011. He has also sat as a judge ad hoc of the European Court of Human Rights and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Over time, he specialised increasingly in the developing field of public law, and in his current role as visiting professor at the University of Oxford has prepared and delivered the series of lectures which form the basis of this book.
Introduction
Part I. Histories: 1. Lions in winter: public law in the twentieth century
2. The dark satanic mills: the Victorian state
3. New corn from old fields: the Hanoverian harvest
4. Parchment in the fire: public law in the Interregnum
5. The future of public law
Part II. Themes: 6. The royal prerogative
7. The sovereignty of Parliament and the abuse of power
8. The right to be heard
9. The separation of powers
10. Public law and human rights
11. The state and the law
12. Standing and 'sitting'
13. Law without courts: the tribunal system
14. The rule of law.
