TY - JOUR
T1 - Law, politics, and the Attorney-General
T2 - the context and impact of Gouriet v Union of Post Office Workers
AU - Radan, Peter
N1 - Publisher version archived with the permission of the Dean, Division of Law, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia. This copy is available for individual, non-commercial use. Permission to reprint/republish this version for other uses must be obtained from the publisher.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - The role of the Attorney-General as the guardian of the public interest, in considering granting his or her fiat to relator proceedings in relation to the enforcement of public rights, often attracts political controversy. This is vividly illustrated in the circumstances surrounding the decision of the House of Lords in Gouriet v Union of Post Office Workers, which confirmed the traditional rule that the Attorney-General’s decision to refuse to grant his or her fiat is not justiciable (the fiat rule). This article details the rationale for the fiat rule, explores the political context and impact of the Gouriet case, and briefly details the impact of the decision on the rights of a private individual to enforce public rights.
AB - The role of the Attorney-General as the guardian of the public interest, in considering granting his or her fiat to relator proceedings in relation to the enforcement of public rights, often attracts political controversy. This is vividly illustrated in the circumstances surrounding the decision of the House of Lords in Gouriet v Union of Post Office Workers, which confirmed the traditional rule that the Attorney-General’s decision to refuse to grant his or her fiat is not justiciable (the fiat rule). This article details the rationale for the fiat rule, explores the political context and impact of the Gouriet case, and briefly details the impact of the decision on the rights of a private individual to enforce public rights.
M3 - Article
SN - 1839-373X
VL - 16
SP - 105
EP - 126
JO - Macquarie Law Journal
JF - Macquarie Law Journal
ER -