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Dr John McGarry - Leeds Beckett. Leeds, , GB

Dr John McGarry

Senior Lecturer | Leeds Beckett

Leeds, UNITED KINGDOM

John McGarry's research interests include all aspects of public law and legal theory and he has published extensively in these areas.

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Biography

Dr John McGarry is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Leeds Law School. He has previously taught law at Staffordshire University, the University of Bolton, Edge Hill University, the University of Central Lancashire and the Institute of Higher Education at Blackburn College.

John's research interests include all aspects of public law and legal theory and he has published extensively in these areas. He is the author of numerous academic papers, one monograph, two textbooks and the co-editor of four volumes of collected papers. He has been cited by both the UK Parliament and the EU Parliament. He has also given papers nationally and internationally.

John has experience of teaching and supervising students at various levels including foundation level, undergraduate, masters level and PhD.

He is a member of the Society of Legal Scholars and the Socio-Legal Studies Association and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Industry Expertise (3)

Public Policy

Education/Learning

Legal Services

Areas of Expertise (5)

Legal Theory

Law

Government Policies

Justice

Public Law

Affiliations (3)

  • Society of Legal Scholars : Member
  • Socio-Legal Studies Association : Member
  • Higher Education Academy : Fellow

Languages (1)

  • English

Event Appearances (15)

Ouster clauses and tension in the rule of law

Centre for Crime, Justice and Security Annual Conference  Staffordshire University

Constitutional Statutes – 20 Years On

Constitutional Statutes - 20 Years On,  

2022-09-16

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners and Police Accountability

Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference  King's College London

The Attorney General and Contempt of Court - A Gentle Polemic

Centre for Crime, Justice and Security Public Seminar Series  Staffordshire University

Informing Policy and Practice

Centre for Crime, Justice and Security Annual Conference  Staffordshire University

The Attorney General and Contempt of Court – Some political and constitutional questions.

Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference  University of Central Lancashire

The Hermeneutical Academic: Philosophical Hermeneutics as a Model for Academic Behaviour

TIRI Annual Conference  University of Bolton

The Attorney-General, Contempt of Court and Political Bias

Socio-legal Studies Association Annual Conference  Newcastle University

Genuineness as an Element of Sufficient Interest

Socio-legal Scholars Association  Lancaster University

A Reappraisal of Kelsen’s Rejection of the Natural-Law Doctrine

Hans Kelsen and the Natural Law Tradition: An International, Interdisciplinary Workshop  Edge Hill University

Kelsen, Weber and the Free Law Movement

Hans Kelsen and Max Weber: Convergences and Divergences in Conceptions of the Juridico-Political  Edge Hill University

President or Constitutional Court? The Divergences of Weber and Kelsen

Hans Kelsen and Max Weber: Convergences and Divergences in Conceptions of the Juridico-Political  Edge Hill University

Computer Says No: Technology and Police Stops

Police Governance and Accountability: Challenges and Outlook  University of Limerick

An Analysis of the Ultra Vires Doctrine using Immanent Critique

-  University of Central Lancashire

It’s Government v Judges in Asylum Cases

Safe Sanctuary? Conference on Asylum and Refugee Issues  Edge Hill University

Articles (13)

The Attorney General and contempt of court – some political and constitutional concerns

Legal Studies

2023 The Attorney General for England and Wales is the Government's Senior Law Officer who, inter alia, initiates certain kinds of legal proceedings. She is also a politician: a member of the House of Commons or the House of Lords and appointed to Government by the Prime Minister.

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Constitutional Statutes—Roots and Recognition

Statute Law Review

2020 Sir John Laws, the originator of the principle of constitutional statutes, suggests that the protection accorded to them has its roots in the protection from implied repeal given to the European Communities Act 1972 and to constitutional fundamentals. We argue that this suggestion is more convincing with regard to the latter than it is with the former.

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Carltona – A Matter of Intention

Judicial Review

... there is a presumption in favour of the Carltona principle. I consider these matters below.

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Intention, supremacy and judicial review

Theory and Practice of Legislation

2015

The Importance of an Expansive Test of Standing

Judicial Review

In September 2013 the Government published the consultation document Judicial Review: Proposals for Further Reform. 1 Among other things, this suggests that the current test of standing in judicial review should be tightened. This would reduce the number of people permitted to bring judicial review claims.

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The Possibility and Value of Coherence

Liverpool Law Review

2013 It would seem axiomatic that the law should be coherent in the sense that it should be consistent and correspond to an underlying justificatory rationale. Indeed, coherence would appear to be a good, in and of itself, and give rise to other benefits which are desirable in a legal system.

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The principle of parliamentary sovereignty

Legal Studies

2012 In this paper, I use Dworkin's distinction between rules and principles to analyse the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. I argue that, inherent in many conceptions of the doctrine, is an assumption that it operates in the conclusive manner of a Dworkinian rule. I then submit that the doctrine actually functions in the flexible way characteristic of a Dworkinian principle. In support of this contention, I argue that Acts of Parliament may be balanced against competing principles or statutes; that they possess the dimension of weight or importance; and that the degree to which they will be adhered in any particular case will be contingent upon the importance attributed to any competing principle or statute. I finish the paper with an evaluation of my arguments and an attempt to anticipate potential counter-arguments.

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Named, Shamed, and Defamed by the Police

Policing

2011 Since 2005, police in the United Kingdom have had the power to seize vehicles where they reasonably believe they are being driven without motor insurance or driving licence. Forces across the UK have made extensive use of this provision. In this article, I examine the way in which Merseyside Police have operated this power of seizure.

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Computer says no: technology and accountability in policing traffic stops

Crime, Law and Social Change

2011 The Road Traffic Act 1988 gives police in the United Kingdom the power to seize motor vehicles which they have reasonable grounds for believing are being driven without a valid driver’s licence or motor insurance. Drivers may then have to pay a fee to have their vehicles returned. When exercising this power of seizure, the police may rely on information contained on the Police National Computer (PNC) which is linked to the National Insurance Database (NID).

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Effecting Legal Certainty under the Human Rights Act

Judicial Review

2011

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Location, Location, Location: The Whereabouts Rule and the Right to Privacy

Cambrian Law Review

2009

"Functions of a public nature" under the Human Rights Act 1998: the decision of the House of Lords in YL v Birmingham City Council

Web Journal of Current Legal Issues

2007 In YL v Birmingham City Council [2007] UKHL 27, the House of Lords decided that a private body providing publicly funded residential care is not engaged in “functions of a public nature” under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), s 6(3)(b). The significance of this issue is that it determines whether those providing such care must conform with the Convention rights under the Act. It is a matter that has been the subject of some controversy in recent years.

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Parliamentary Sovereignty, Judges and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Bill.

Liverpool Law Review

2005 It is an aspect of the traditional view of Parliamentary sovereignty that the courts will not rule as invalid an Act of Parliament, or any part of an Act, which has been passed in the correct fashion. This view has been questioned by some, including some senior judges. They argue that certain limits on the legislative competence of Parliament are necessary to protect those fundamental values that are essential in a democracy.

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