Does the ultra vires doctrine provide the best justification for Essay

Does the ultra vires doctrine provide the best justification for judicial review in the British constitution - Essay Example Accordingly, the preservation of separation of powers is essential as a check on autocratic power. As such, the doctrine of ultra vires is theoretically vital in serving as a testament to the independence of the judiciary in its role under the fundamental constitutional separation of powers in ensuring that public bodies, such as government departments, local authorities, tribunals, agencies have not acted ultra vires5. Moreover, the ultra vires doctrine is cited as the first principle of natural justice and the rule of law that public bodies are required to act within the scope of the powers allocated to them by Parliament6. The incorporation of the European Convention of the Human Rights (implemented through the Human Rights Act 1998) further requires judicial review to ensure that public authorities do not â€Å"act in a way which is incompatible with a convention right7†. Indeed, Doctor Yardley asserts that judicial review is â€Å"the ultimate safeguard for the ordinary citizen against unlawful action by †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.the more powerful administration8†. Alternatively it has been argued that the ultra vires doctrine is inherently limited by enabling a process by which courts scrutinise and consider the validity of the manner in which public authorities have made a decision9. The essence of judicial review is to ensure that public authorities act appropriately in exercising their duty10 regardless of the merits of the decision, which in itself begs the question as to the efficacy of the judiciary’s role under the separation of powers to truly act as a curb on the legitimacy of abuses of power by the executive11. This is further compounded by the fact that the judiciary has evolved and expanded the parameters of the ultra vires doctrine on an ad hoc basis in order to circumvent the inherent limitations of judicial review12.