McEldowney v Forde: HL 18 Jun 1969

The House was asked whether the Magistrates had properly dismissed a charge of membership of an unlawful organisation, namely a Republican club. The Magistrates had found that an unlawful club would only be such if it supported the absorption of Northern Ireland into the Irish Republic. The Regulations were challanged as ultra vires to the Act.
Held: The Regulation was not ultra vires (majority). In the regulation in question the expediency was stated in the Regulation and in the absence of any charge of bad faith, expediency was presumed provided that the exercise of the power was capable of being related to the specified purposes.

Lord Hodson, Lord Guest, Lord Pearce, Lord Pearson, Lord Diplock
[1969] UKHL 6, [1971] 1 AC 632, [1970] NI 11, [1969] 2 All ER 1039
Bailii
Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1922 1, Criminal Law and Procedure (Ireland) Act 1887
Northern Ireland
Citing:
CitedThe Attorney General of Canada v Hallet and Carey Limited and Another PC 20-May-1952
Canada – By section 2(l)(c) of the National Emergency Transitional Powers Act 1945 the governor in Council was authorised to do such things and to make such orders and regulations as he might, by reason of the continued emergency arising out of the . .
CitedRex (at the prosecution of Arthur Zadig) v Halliday HL 1-May-1917
The applicant was German born but a naturalised Englishman who complained of having been interned by a regulation made under the 1914 Act. He said that the regulation was ultra vires.
Held: The appeal failed (Lord Shaw dissenting). The House . .
CitedPadfield v Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food HL 14-Feb-1968
Exercise of Ministerial Discretion
The Minister had power to direct an investigation in respect of any complaint as to the operation of any marketing scheme for agricultural produce. Milk producers complained about the price paid by the milk marketing board for their milk when . .
CitedMinister of Health v The King ex parte Yaffe 1931
Lord Thankerton said: ‘In this case, as in similar cases that have come before the Courts, Parliament has delegated its legislative function to a Minister of the Crown, but in this case Parliament has retained no specific control over the exercise . .
CitedCarltona Ltd v Commissioners of Works CA 1943
Ministers May Act through Civil Servants
The plaintiffs owned a factory which was to be requisitioned. They sought a judicial review of the lawfulness of the order making the requisition, saying that the 1939 Regulations had been implemented not by the Minister as required, but by an . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Northern Ireland, Constitutional

Leading Case

Updated: 09 November 2021; Ref: scu.248581