Journal Name: Journal of International Dispute Settlement

Volume Number: 10

Issue Number: 3

Abstract:

This article is concerned with the function of English judges in employing the doctrine of public policy to decide cases under common law. For the first time, the article offers a critical appraisal of the recent evolution of public policy and decision making under English law from a structured doctrine of legal rules and limited judicial discretion to an open-ended principle of subjective evaluations. The main thesis of the article is that the latest judicial amendment of the nature of the public policy inquiry constitutes a radical and unnecessary departure from generally accepted propositions on the appropriate function of English judges in addressing issues of public policy.