Inquiries
What is an inquiry?
● Form of ‘investigation’: established on an ad hoc basis in response to a
particular event or series of events. Inquiries tend to address particularly
important, controversial, and difficult issues e.g. Grenfell
○ Used as a way to address public concern
● Set up by the government – executive
○ Executive can set up inquiry and all the personnel within it; lots of power
and discretion
○ Does not need to consult Parliament
● Conducted by an independent person (who writes a report)
○ Not a Minister - but the Minister decides the person
○ Sometimes that person is a judge/former judge
● Often public (but not necessarily)
○ Funded by public money for public concerns as a matter of public law
● Sometimes deal with controversial, newsworthy issues
Prominent examples of inquiries
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry 1999:
● This inquiry investigated the circumstances surrounding the racially motivated
killing of a black teenager and, in particular, sought to identify the lessons to be
learned for the police as regards the investigation and prosecution of racially
motivated crimes.
● The report concluded that the police’s handling of the investigation had been
marked by institutional racism, a wider problem within the police that needed to
be addressed
○ The first time there was a public discussion about institutional racism in
UK institutions
The Chilcot Inquiry 2016:
● Inquiry into the Iraq war which involved the US, UK, and allies invading and
taking full-scale occupation of Iraq because of the claimed existence of weapons
of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq.
● The Chilcot report provided a strong critique of the then Prime Minister, Tony
Blair, and the UK government:
, ○ The UK chose to invade Iraq before the peaceful options had been
exhausted; military action was not a last resort;
○ The severity of the threat posed by Iraq was not justified; government
policy on Iraq had been made on the basis of flawed intelligence and
assessments.
○ Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were
underestimated.
○ The government failed to achieve its stated objectives, not least because
its planning for the period following the removal from power of Saddam
Hussein was wholly inadequate
■ No clear plan from allies as to what would have been done in
interest of civilians after removal of Hussein
● Amongst the various findings of the inquiry, two are particularly relevant for UK
constitution:
1. First, the inquiry noted the importance of collective ministerial discussion
which encourages frank and informed debate and challenge
2. Second, the inquiry also considered the legal advice concerning the
legality of the invasion and found that the circumstances in which it was
ultimately decided that there was a legal basis for UK participation were
very far from satisfactory
● Report challenged the legal basis used to justify the invasion of Iraq
● The Chilcot inquiry lasted seven years. It took oral evidence over a number of
months and considered 150,000 documents. The inquiry also involved a
protracted negotiation with the government over the use of classified documents
● The inquiry cost £10.3 million.
Prominent ongoing examples of inquiries
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
Widespread concerns about historic sexual abuse of children, this inquiry is
investigating whether public bodies and other non-state institutions have taken seriously
their duty of care to protect children from such abuse
● The inquiry intends to identify institutional failings, demand accountability for past
institutional failings, support victims and survivors to share their experience of
sexual abuse, and make recommendations.
● The inquiry has launched 13 separate investigations into a broad range of
institutions of historical child abuse—each of which could constitute a normal
inquiry by itself
● This inquiry has proved to be particularly problematic.
, ○ Three inquiry chairs have resigned for different reasons. This inquiry will
be the largest ever undertaken.
○ The sheer scale and complexity of this inquiry in addition to the sensitivity
of the issues raised and the expectations it has created have prompted
concerns
The Grenfell Fire Inquiry 2017
PM established an inquiry to examine the circumstances leading up to and surrounding
the harrowing fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017 in which 72 people died
The nature of inquiries - Administrative or Judicial?
There are different views on this question
● Administrative = executive initiates the inquiry, decides the chairperson,
implements the recommendations
● Judicial = keep in check the separation of powers
Franks Committee (1957)
● ‘Our general conclusion is that those procedures cannot be classified as purely
administrative or purely judicial.
● They are not purely administrative because of the provision for a special
procedure preliminary to the decision – a feature not to be found in the ordinary
course of administration – and because this procedure … involves the testing of
an issue, often partly in public.
● They are not on the other hand purely judicial, because the final decision cannot
be reached by the application of rules and must allow the exercise of wide
discretion in the balancing of public and private interest.
● Neither view at its extreme is tenable, nor should either be emphasized at the
expense of the other.’
Inquiries are inquisitorial (vs adversarial)
Inquisitorial = search for information to define patterns of maladministration
Adversarial = adopted by courts and tribunals
What is ‘inquisitorial’?
● ‘It is the inquiry itself that is responsible for gathering evidence, questioning
witnesses, and determining the progress and direction of the proceedings. This
differs from the adversarial nature of ordinary litigation in the civil and criminal
courts, where each side presents a case which is then tested by the other side.
What is an inquiry?
● Form of ‘investigation’: established on an ad hoc basis in response to a
particular event or series of events. Inquiries tend to address particularly
important, controversial, and difficult issues e.g. Grenfell
○ Used as a way to address public concern
● Set up by the government – executive
○ Executive can set up inquiry and all the personnel within it; lots of power
and discretion
○ Does not need to consult Parliament
● Conducted by an independent person (who writes a report)
○ Not a Minister - but the Minister decides the person
○ Sometimes that person is a judge/former judge
● Often public (but not necessarily)
○ Funded by public money for public concerns as a matter of public law
● Sometimes deal with controversial, newsworthy issues
Prominent examples of inquiries
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry 1999:
● This inquiry investigated the circumstances surrounding the racially motivated
killing of a black teenager and, in particular, sought to identify the lessons to be
learned for the police as regards the investigation and prosecution of racially
motivated crimes.
● The report concluded that the police’s handling of the investigation had been
marked by institutional racism, a wider problem within the police that needed to
be addressed
○ The first time there was a public discussion about institutional racism in
UK institutions
The Chilcot Inquiry 2016:
● Inquiry into the Iraq war which involved the US, UK, and allies invading and
taking full-scale occupation of Iraq because of the claimed existence of weapons
of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq.
● The Chilcot report provided a strong critique of the then Prime Minister, Tony
Blair, and the UK government:
, ○ The UK chose to invade Iraq before the peaceful options had been
exhausted; military action was not a last resort;
○ The severity of the threat posed by Iraq was not justified; government
policy on Iraq had been made on the basis of flawed intelligence and
assessments.
○ Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were
underestimated.
○ The government failed to achieve its stated objectives, not least because
its planning for the period following the removal from power of Saddam
Hussein was wholly inadequate
■ No clear plan from allies as to what would have been done in
interest of civilians after removal of Hussein
● Amongst the various findings of the inquiry, two are particularly relevant for UK
constitution:
1. First, the inquiry noted the importance of collective ministerial discussion
which encourages frank and informed debate and challenge
2. Second, the inquiry also considered the legal advice concerning the
legality of the invasion and found that the circumstances in which it was
ultimately decided that there was a legal basis for UK participation were
very far from satisfactory
● Report challenged the legal basis used to justify the invasion of Iraq
● The Chilcot inquiry lasted seven years. It took oral evidence over a number of
months and considered 150,000 documents. The inquiry also involved a
protracted negotiation with the government over the use of classified documents
● The inquiry cost £10.3 million.
Prominent ongoing examples of inquiries
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
Widespread concerns about historic sexual abuse of children, this inquiry is
investigating whether public bodies and other non-state institutions have taken seriously
their duty of care to protect children from such abuse
● The inquiry intends to identify institutional failings, demand accountability for past
institutional failings, support victims and survivors to share their experience of
sexual abuse, and make recommendations.
● The inquiry has launched 13 separate investigations into a broad range of
institutions of historical child abuse—each of which could constitute a normal
inquiry by itself
● This inquiry has proved to be particularly problematic.
, ○ Three inquiry chairs have resigned for different reasons. This inquiry will
be the largest ever undertaken.
○ The sheer scale and complexity of this inquiry in addition to the sensitivity
of the issues raised and the expectations it has created have prompted
concerns
The Grenfell Fire Inquiry 2017
PM established an inquiry to examine the circumstances leading up to and surrounding
the harrowing fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017 in which 72 people died
The nature of inquiries - Administrative or Judicial?
There are different views on this question
● Administrative = executive initiates the inquiry, decides the chairperson,
implements the recommendations
● Judicial = keep in check the separation of powers
Franks Committee (1957)
● ‘Our general conclusion is that those procedures cannot be classified as purely
administrative or purely judicial.
● They are not purely administrative because of the provision for a special
procedure preliminary to the decision – a feature not to be found in the ordinary
course of administration – and because this procedure … involves the testing of
an issue, often partly in public.
● They are not on the other hand purely judicial, because the final decision cannot
be reached by the application of rules and must allow the exercise of wide
discretion in the balancing of public and private interest.
● Neither view at its extreme is tenable, nor should either be emphasized at the
expense of the other.’
Inquiries are inquisitorial (vs adversarial)
Inquisitorial = search for information to define patterns of maladministration
Adversarial = adopted by courts and tribunals
What is ‘inquisitorial’?
● ‘It is the inquiry itself that is responsible for gathering evidence, questioning
witnesses, and determining the progress and direction of the proceedings. This
differs from the adversarial nature of ordinary litigation in the civil and criminal
courts, where each side presents a case which is then tested by the other side.
