The commonly held view about English administrative law is that it is of recent origin, with some dating it from the mid-20th century and some venturing back to the late 19th century. English Administrative Law from 1550: Continuity and Change upends this conventional thinking, charting its development from the mid-16th century with an in-depth examination of administrative law doctrine based on primary legal materials, statute, and case law. This book is divided into four parts. Part I sets out the book's principal thesis, contrasting standard perceptions concerning the existence of English administrative law with the reality of its emergence from the mid-16th century. Part II is concerned with Regulation and Administration from the mid-16th century to the end of the 19th century. There is detailed analysis of the regulatory and administrative state, which includes chapters on the way in which administrative policy was developed through individual decision-making and rulemaking, and the role played by contract in service delivery. Part III deals with Courts and Doctrine. It begins with discussion of foundational precepts followed by chapters on natural justice; review of law and fact; rights; delegation, fettering and purpose; reasonableness; proportionability; prerogative; and third and fourth source power. Part IV of the book covers Remedies and Review, with chapters on invalidity; standing; the prerogative writs; injunction, declaration, quo warranto and habeas corpus; and damages and restitutionary liability. With thought-provoking and original insights, English Administrative Law from 1550 systematically elaborates and contextualizes the origins of administrative law features while linking them to their modern-day equivalents.

It is a masterful work that marks a turning point in research on the English state. * Sabino Cassese, Il Sole 24 Ore *
It would be wonderful if this work reached out beyond the narrow confines of the specialist legal historian, to prompt sociologists and political scientists to re-evaluate how the state distributes and controls its primary resource-power. * Max D Winthrop, Law Society Gazette *

Paul Craig is Emeritus Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford. From 1976-1998 he was a Fellow in Law at Worcester College, Oxford and member of the Law Faculty. He became a reader in law in 1990. From 1998-2019 he was Professor of English Law, St John's College, Oxford. In 1998 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy and in 2000 was made an Honorary Bencher of Gray's Inn and a QC (Honoris Causa). From 2010-2019 he was the alternate UK member of the Venice Commission on Law and Democracy. He specializes in constitutional law, administrative law, EU law and comparative public law, and has published extensively in these areas.