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Document Type

Lecture

Publication Date

Fall 1994

Publication Citation

2 Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 191 (1994)

Abstract

Sir David Williams originally presented this paper as the

inaugural lecturer for the Ralph F. Fuchs lecture series at the

Indiana University School of Law on April 15, 1993. Professor

Fuchs was a faculty member of the Indiana University School of

Law from 1945 until his death in 1985. He was an important

contributor to the drafting of the Administrative Procedure Act of

1946, president of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, an active

participant in the National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People, a leader of the American Association of University

Professors, and a fighter for free speech and thought in academic

institutions during the McCarthy era.

Sir David Williams begins his paper with a brief description of

the history of English administrative law, noting that it has

developed more slowly as compared to administrative law in the

United States. He then discusses a case at the root of English

administrative law-Roberts v. Hopwood, a judgment issued in

1925. Williams proceeds to analyze administrative law development

in England, including the doctrines of judicial review, control of

administrative discretion, and the complementary, evolving doctrines

of administrative discretion and judicial deference, as exemplified

by the authoritative dissent in Liversidge v. Anderson. Williams

also stresses the relationship between democratic ideals and judicial

deference to the decisions of local authorities. He concludes by

describing the ever-evolving nature of administrative law in England

today, arguing that just as in the 1920s, the underlying approach of

the courts to questions in administrative law can only be interpreted

by taking into account the multitude of circumstances from which

such questions arise.

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