header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
19 May 2023 / Nicholas Dobson
Issue: 8025 / Categories: Features , Public
printer mail-detail

Policies are not the same as law

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
122337
A claim that government business discussed over WhatsApp was unlawful has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal: Nicholas Dobson reports
  • In R (Good Law Project Ltd) v Prime Minister, the Court of Appeal ruled that there was no implied duty under the Public Records Act 1958 to retain records; and no duty on ministers (enforceable by judicial review) to comply with specified policies.
  • Consequently, the Good Law Project’s appeal and claim for judicial review were both dismissed.

The drug dealer Sportin’ Life in George and Ira Gershwin’s 1935 opera Porgy and Bess was sceptical about some episodes in the Bible (or, as it’s often called, the Good Book). So, as he sang: ‘It ain’t necessarily so/The t’ings dat yo’ li’ble/To read in de Bible/It ain’t necessarily so.’

This might also sometimes be said of the views of the Good Law Project (GLP) on what’s lawful and what’s not. For instance, when the GLP challenged as unlawful the use of private communication systems for governmental

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
NLJ this week: Family law urged to ditch adversarial instincts
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll