Necessity or Grace? The Requirement for Public Authorities to Follow Decisions of the Courts

1. So said Lord Templeman, in M v Home Office, in what Lord Neuberger was later to describe as ‘characteristically colourful’ language. The title of this article may puzzle the reader, lawyer and lay person alike. The proposition that decisions of the Court must be followed within a democracy seems an obvious one. How else would the checks and balances within a democracy work? It would seem odd if, should a public body fail to comply with an order of a court, no mechanism would be in place to remedy that non-compliance.