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Abstract

This paper analyses the significance from both a constitutional law and administrative law viewpoint of three recent Supreme Court decisions which offered new perspectives on the meaning of important elements of the homelessness legislation (now Part VII of the Housing Act 1996). It is suggested that the collective impact of these judgments has produced what is in formal, doctrinal terms a significant amendment of the Act, notwithstanding both that the text of the legislation remains unaltered and that the Supreme Court has declined expressly to overrule pertinent previous authorities. The article explores both the constitutional legitimacy of such judicial innovation in a theoretical sense and its likely impact in practical terms on the conduct of local authority decisionmaking and the entitlements that the homelessness legislation bestows upon homeless people.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Public Law following peer review. The definitive published version Loveland, I. (2018). Reforming the homelessness legislation? Exploring the constitutional and administrative legitimacy of judicial lawmaking. Public Law, 2018(Apr), pp. 299-323. will be available online on Westlaw UK or from Thomson Reuters DocDel service.
Publisher Keywords:	Separation of powers; rule of law; sovereignty of Parliament; legitimacy; statutory interpretation; homelessness
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform K Law > K Law (General)
Departments:	The City Law School > Academic Programmes

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