“Ministers cannot use prerogative powers to frustrate Parliament's statutory scheme”
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 established a statutory criminal injuries compensation scheme to replace the existing ex gratia scheme, but required commencement by statutory instrument. The Home Secretary decided not to implement the statutory scheme and instead introduced a cheaper tariff scheme under prerogative power.
Whether the Home Secretary could lawfully use prerogative powers to introduce an alternative compensation scheme when Parliament had enacted a statutory scheme, and whether this constituted an abuse of power.
The Home Secretary's decision was unlawful. Ministers cannot use prerogative powers to introduce policies that are inconsistent with Parliament's will as expressed in legislation, even if that legislation has not been brought into force.
This case established important constitutional limits on executive power, confirming that prerogative powers cannot be used to undermine or circumvent Parliamentary legislation, even when that legislation has not yet been implemented.
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OSCOLA Citation
R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex p Fire Brigades Union [1995] 2 AC 513 (HL)
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