The Appellate Jurisdiction of Central Government Departments
| Date | 01 December 1924 |
| Published date | 01 December 1924 |
| Author | F. H. C. Wiltshire |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1924.tb02192.x |
The
Journal
of
Ptcblic Administration
The
Appellate
Jurisdiction
of
Central Government
Departments
By
F.
H.
C.
WILTSHIRE
(Town
Clerk,
Birmingham)
HAVE
experienced no little dimculty
in
satisfying myself
as
to the
best
method in which to present this paper to you.
The subject matter involved
is
of such wide dimensions and embraces
so
many phases of local government law and practice that
it
is impossible
for me to deal with it comprehensively in the time and space at my
It
is clear,
I
think, from the fact that Mr. Gibbon, of the Ministry of
Health,
is
to follow me, that
I
am
expected to consider the matter from
the standpoint
of
the local authority, and, moreover, that
it
would be
appropriate for me to direct my special attention to the appellate juris-
diction of the Ministry of Health.
Far
be it from me to suggest that
Mr.
Gibbon
is
not equally familiar with the question
as
it affects all
other Central Government Departments, but it is obvious that some
limitation of the scope of the subject is necessary
in
view of the time
allotted for the two papers.
It
is, perhaps, a commonplace to say that every system
of
judicature
requires
a
final appellate tribunal to revise and control the judgments
of
the courts below. In
all
civilized communities such
a
reviewing
power exists, and it
is
necessary, on the one hand, to correct any errors
and remedy any injustice
that
may have been committed in the adminis-
tration of the law,
and
on the other, to define and fix the law and preserve
uniformity in judicial decisions.
The legislature in this country,
as
you are aware, makes the fullest
provision for appeals through the superior and inferior courts in both
civil and criminal matters, in order that justice may be done to His
Majesty’s subjects.
As
an example
of
the care that is taken in this direction, it
will
be
recalled that no less than thirteen judges recently sat
as
a Court of
Criminal Appeal to hear and determine a point of constitutional import-
ance concerning the admission of evidence to establish whether
a
certain
person was an
“
habitual criminal
”
or not.
Inasmuch as, generally speaking, the function of the appellate courts
I
disposal.
370
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