is an important case in

English administrative law United Kingdom administrative law is part of UK constitutional law that is designed through judicial review to hold executive power and public bodies accountable under the law. A person can apply to the High Court to challenge a public body's dec ...

which established the possibility of a " collateral challenge" to an allegedly unlawful administrative action.

Facts

Mr Boddington was caught smoking in a railway carriage where smoking was prohibited. He was convicted and fined by a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

under a

by-law A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

made under the

Transport Act 1962 The Transport Act 1962 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Described as the "most momentous piece of legislation in the field of railway law to have been enacted since the Railway and Canal Traffic Act 1854", it was passed by Haro ...

Judgment

On appeal, the question was whether Mr Boddington was entitled to raise, as a defence, the invalidity of the by-law under which he had been convicted. The difficulty was that the normal path for having an administrative action declared unlawful and invalid is an application for

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...

– which Mr Boddington had not brought. The

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

held unanimously that he was entitled to bring a so-called collateral challenge in the criminal proceedings. Lord Irvine, then

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

, and

Lord Steyn Johan van Zyl Steyn, Baron Steyn, PC (15 August 1932 – 28 November 2017) was a South African-British judge, until September 2005 a Law Lord. He sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher. Early life and education Steyn was born in Stellen ...

gave the leading speeches. On the facts, however, Mr Boddington's challenge failed, and his appeal against conviction was dismissed.

Legacy

Collateral challenges are an important means, alternative to an application for judicial review, of attacking the validity of an administrative action. Although collateral challenges had been permitted in English law before ''Boddington'', the case is notable for strongly asserting their continuing relevance in modern law and rooting them in

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

values. ''Boddington'' was adopted into

South African law South Africa has a 'hybrid' or legal pluralism, 'mixed' legal system, formed by the interweaving of a number of distinct legal traditions: a civil law (legal system), civil law system inherited from Dutch Empire, the Dutch, a common law system ...

by the Supreme Court of Appeal in ''Oudekraal Estates (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town and Others''.''Oudekraal Estates (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town and Others''

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda Ai ...

ZASCA 48, 2004 (6) SA 222 (SCA)

References

House of Lords cases 1998 in British law United Kingdom administrative case law {{case-law-stub