Consistency in Administrative Law

Abstract

I argue that English law should require administrative officials to treat like cases alike. The exception is if an official is more likely to decide a case correctly than the official who decided a previous and like case. The burden should be on the claimant to prove that his or her case was treated differently than a previous and like case. The burden should be on the official to show that he or she falls within the scope of the exception. Although these claims are relatively modest, they are practically important. In particular, they suggest that many cases in English administrative law should have been decided differently.

Keywords: precedent, fairness, legal reasoning, judicial review