Law and Legitimacy in Administrative Justice Research
| Author | Simon Halliday |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/09646639221140799 |
| Published date | 01 April 2023 |
| Date | 01 April 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Review Essay |
Law and Legitimacy in
Administrative Justice
Research
Simon Halliday
University of York, UK
ROBERT THOMAS, Administrative Law in Action: Immigration Administration. Oxford: Hart
Publishing, 2022, pp. 303, ISBN 978-1-5099-5311-0, £90 (hbk).
Introduction
The first thing one notices about Robert Thomas’book is the prioritisation of his intended
contributions, evident in the book’s title. In a monograph that devotes eight of its ten
chapters to a detailed description of the work of the UK’s immigration departments, it
is telling that he leads with the notion of ‘administrative law in action’rather than ‘immi-
gration administration’.
In the main core of his book, over roughly 250 pages, Thomas offers us a weighty ana-
lysis of the structure and operation of immigration decision-making. In reading it, one
gets the sense of a scholar who is at the top of his game. It is something of a tour de
force, an authoritative and comprehensive account that is hugely impressive. He takes
the reader on a guided tour of the various features that, in combination, make up the
UK’s immigration system. We learn about organisational structures, rules and guidance,
caseworking, enforcement and redress. He also discusses the Windrush scandal in depth
and, more generally, addresses the phenomenon of bureaucratic oppression, which he
identifies in many aspects of the routine work of these departments.
Yet, his ambition goes well beyond the context of immigration administration. His
book should be read as a challenge to administrative law scholarship. He devotes most
of his book to immigration administration because this is how he thinks administrative
law scholarship is best conducted. His approach is a suggested alternative to generalist
doctrinal work within administrative law research:
By drawing upon a wide range of materials and combining legal analysis with that of polit-
ical science, public administration and organisational studies, this book has analysed a
Corresponding author:
Simon Halliday, York Law School, University of York, Law / Management Building, Freboys Lane, YORK, UK.
Email: simon.halliday@york.ac.uk
Review Essay
Social & Legal Studies
2023, Vol. 32(2) 318–331
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/09646639221140799
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