Scotsman Archive
In the House of Lords yesterday Lord Cecil raised the interesting question of whether the increasing power of the Cabinet – he called it a dictatorial power – is not a danger to democracy. In effect, he was moving Dunning's famous motion about the increasing power of the Crown in a form more suitable to the present day, for if the power of the Crown was a danger in the 18th century it is the power of the Cabinet that is least subject to control today. This topic has been discussed from time to time in Parliament in relation to delegated legislation, and the debate yesterday fringed upon that subject. Lord Simon said that owing to the development of administrative law, the rule of law, about which the text-books have so much to say, has largley disappeared. That is unfortunately, true. There is not only delegated legislation but also administrative justice which does not necessarily follow the same rules as apply in the law courts.
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