BOOK REVIEW BLUEPRINTS: CONSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW Your plan for learning By Chris Monaghan PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED Always Learning ISBN: 978 1 44790 497 7 (print) 978 1 44790 498 4 (PDF) 978 1 29201 513 2 (eText) www.pearson.com A BRILLIANT MODERN APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF CONSTITUTIONAL & ADMINISTRATIVE LAW FOR 21st CENTURY LAWYERS An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers Any course of study on constitutional and administrative law can be easy or hard depending on whether you like the subject and understand the British political and legal systems. Teaching the subject has often caused some problems for both tutor and student- mainly from those overseas learners who may not be as familiar with our system in the United Kingdom which can seem strange to those in other jurisdictions. So, to the rescue comes Pearson’s “Blueprints” series and author Chris Monaghan has brought together an excellent learning programme in four parts covering the following: constitutional fundamentals; government institutions and the prerogative; human rights; and, finally, administrative law. The sub-heading for these “Blueprints” is explained as “your plan for learning” and that is exactly what you get! The Pearson mission is “to help people make more of their lives through learning” and the way they achieve this aim is to combine innovative learning technology with trusted content and educational expertise. The end product is what they describe as providing “engaging and effective learning experiences that serve people wherever and whenever they are learning” so the titles are excellent in particular for the distance learner. Pearson Education provides both digital learning tools and testing programmes with their curriculum materials which offers a fresh introduction to this substantive law area. For those new to the “Blueprints” guides, they are visually designed to assist the acquisition of information giving answers to the most-asked questions including: what is the law and how is it applied; what problems does the law attempt to solve; what do we think about the law; how has the law become this way; what factors are shaping the law today; what do we need to know if we want to understand the subject; where do different points of the law overlap; and where can we find further information about a topic? The answer to these and other questions are set out clearly in the book which is a boon to the modern law student seeking to build a solid understanding of constitutional and administrative law. As Chris Monaghan says in his introduction, this area of law is often viewed with apprehension by learners but it is not a prerequisite to have expertise in history, politics and comparative constitutions. The beauty of this book is that you can find all you need as an undergraduate with the useful contemporary examples illustrating what you may see on the news, or read in newspapers. As Monaghan says, it is an exciting time to study constitutional and administrative law with all the changes which are taking place in 2014 and 2015. The three key features of Britain’s constitution are brilliantly explored and brought alive by the author: Parliamentary Sovereignty; the rule of law; and the separation of powers. Whilst this book is only introductory for what is a vast study area, Chris Monaghan fills the gaps which the learner may have with the study programme: the “Blueprint” series create the indispensable building blocks of the subject to give you, the reader, how each area of the law fits together in the big picture which is the English legal and constitutional system today.

• published: 09 Apr 2015
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