“No one should be condemned unheard - natural justice requires fair hearing.”
Cooper built a house without giving the required seven days' notice to the Board of Works. The Board demolished the house without giving Cooper a hearing, as they claimed they were entitled to do under the statute.
Whether natural justice requires a hearing before administrative action is taken, even when the statute does not expressly provide for one.
The court held in favour of Cooper, finding that the Board should have given him an opportunity to be heard before demolishing his house.
This Victorian case established a foundational principle of natural justice that remains central to administrative law. It demonstrates that procedural fairness can be implied into statutory schemes even where not express.
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OSCOLA Citation
Cooper v Wandsworth Board of Works (1863) 14 CB NS 180
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