Nick O’brien
Biographic Data
| ID | 3838538 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nick O’brien |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nick |
| FAMILY NAME | O’brien |
| SIGNATURE | O’BRIEN N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Liverpool |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7143-0508 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Recalling the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
It is thirty years since the enactment of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). This article argues that the DDA was more than just another instance of anti‐discrimination legislation. Instead, it proposes that, when read in conjunction with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which followed in 2010, the DDA marks the advent not just of a ‘new legal paradigm’, of interest exclusively to lawyers, but of a new form …
Dominican Ditchling and Herbert Mccabe's Sacramental Politics
This article reconsiders the lay Dominican community of artisans which gathered in Ditchling, Sussex, in the 1920s. It does so by situating Ditchling in its distinctively Dominican context and by relating it to a form of sacramental politics powerfully evoked in the work of Herbert McCabe OP. In this way, it aims to reaffirm the continuing political-theological relevance of aspects of Ditchling, and to assert a measure of continuity with the Cath…
From ‘Judicial Mind’ to ‘Democratic Soul’
This article considers the relationship between law and democratic politics as manifest in the practice of ‘street‐level bureaucracy’. By glancing back to debates about citizenship and public administration between the two world wars, it sets contemporary concerns about the political constitution in broader context. In doing so, it discloses a fundamental division between conceptions of the state derived from Roman jurisprudence on the one hand, …
Ombudsmen at the Crossroads
This book charts the evolution of the Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales. Established in 1990, it had a statutory remit that explicitly recognized its dual responsibility for consumer disp
Administrative Justice in the Wake of I, Daniel Blake
This article argues that Ken Loach's film, I, Daniel Blake , invites deep reflection on the relationship between the individual and the state, and, more particularly, on the role of administrative justice in restoring a re‐imagined sense of citizenship. Drawing on earlier debates from the 1950s, as well as on more recent advocacy of the ‘connected society’, the article proposes that to meet such an ambition, administrative justice must be recogni…
Disability Discrimination Law in the United Kingdom and the New Civil Rights History
This article concerns the theoretical and practical contribution of radical lawyer, feminist, and disability activist, Caroline Gooding to disability rights in the United Kingdom. It assesses the impact of her published work in the 1990s and translation of her insights into practice through her work on the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and later at the Disability Rights Commission, not least in securing in legislation a positive disability e…
The ombudsman as democratic ‘alternative’
This article considers the potential impact of the EU Consumer ADR Directive on the future development of public-sector ombudsmen in the UK. It suggests that, whilst the Directive might constructively encourage the reinforcement of consumer rights, any such tendency towards consumerism in the development of the ombudsman institution should be balanced by respect for the distinctive qualities of public-sector ombudsmen as agents of a form of parti…
What Future for the Ombudsman
The ombudsman institution, in both the public and private sectors, is increasingly identified with the ethos of consumerism and the protection of consumer rights. The current trend is exemplified and reinforced by the EU ADR Directive and by the government response to a recent inquiry into complaints conducted by the Public Administration Select Committee. This article argues that the dominant consumerist ethos diminishes the ability of the ombud…
Positive about Equality
This article seeks to demonstrate what is at stake in the Coalition Government's review of the public sector equality duty introduced by s. 149 Equality Act 2010. It does so by setting the duty in the context of other legal developments at home and abroad, especially the evolution of the role of ombudsmen in the UK in promoting equality and human rights, and the reform of court processes in India to decide social rights claims. It suggests that a…
Social rights and civil society
This article considers the actual and potential role of the law in giving force to social rights entitlement. It examines the strategic approach of the Disability Rights Commission in Britain between 2000 and 2007; the engagement of the Greek Parliamentary Ombudsman with civil society to give practical effect to European equality law, especially in respect of the Roma community; and the work of the Health Service Ombudsman in England in promoting…
The Ombudsman Enterprise and Administrative Justice ‐ by Trevor Buck, Richard Kirkham and Brian Thompson
Administrative Justice
This article argues that the political significance of the Coalition government's proposed changes to administrative justice, including the abolition of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, is in danger of passing unnoticed, despite its potential significance for the Big Society agenda. It suggests that the retrieval of genuine perspective lies in paying closer attention both to the contemporary importance of administrative justice a…
Disability Rights Commission
This paper argues that, although originally conceived as part of the ‘civil rights’ agenda, the development of disability rights in Britain by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is better seen as a movement towards the realization of social, economic, and cultural rights, and so as reaffirmation of the indissolubility of human rights in the round. As such, that process of development represents a concrete exercise in the implementation of soc…
In Vino Veritas’
Sir Paul Vinogradoff is widely regarded as the intellectual heir of Sir Henry Maine. As such, he is implicated with Maine in the failure of historical jurisprudence to displace Austinian positivism at the heart of English legal theory. Yet Vinogradoff was of a different generation and intellectual provenance from Maine. By examining the relationship between Vinogradoff's historical jurisprudence and the work of the celebrated German historian The…
Equality and Human Rights
The creation of the new GB Commission for Equality and Human Rights invites fresh reflection on the relationship between human rights and equality. This article suggests that an account of equality that goes beyond the negative notion of anti‐discrimination towards a more positive value‐driven conception of equal participation offers the best chance of fruitful coalition with a human rights approach. It also argues that human rights themselves mu…
Something older than law itself’
This article re-evaluates the intellectual context of Maine's historical jurisprudence by emphasising the importance of his classical background. Maine's time at Cambridge coincided with the rise of ‘progressive classical scholarship’, especially the study of ancient history in its social, economic and institutional setting. By exploring the links between Maine's work and that of the ancient historian Barthold Georg Niebuhr, the article argues th…
The future of equality and human rights in Britain--opportunities and risks for disabled people
The Government plans to introduce a new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), covering disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief and age. This presents both opportunities and risks for the achievement of disability equality. This paper analyses implications and proposes a long term disability rights agenda, geared to mainstreaming disability equality into the CEHR and major policy developments across Government. It …
Administrative Justice in the Wake of I, Daniel Blake
This article argues that Ken Loach's film, I, Daniel Blake , invites deep reflection on the relationship between the individual and the state, and, more particularly, on the role of administrative justice in restoring a re‐imagined sense of citizenship. Drawing on earlier debates from the 1950s, as well as on more recent advocacy of the ‘connected society’, the article proposes that to meet such an ambition, administrative justice must be recogni…
What Future for the Ombudsman
The ombudsman institution, in both the public and private sectors, is increasingly identified with the ethos of consumerism and the protection of consumer rights. The current trend is exemplified and reinforced by the EU ADR Directive and by the government response to a recent inquiry into complaints conducted by the Public Administration Select Committee. This article argues that the dominant consumerist ethos diminishes the ability of the ombud…
Positive about Equality
This article seeks to demonstrate what is at stake in the Coalition Government's review of the public sector equality duty introduced by s. 149 Equality Act 2010. It does so by setting the duty in the context of other legal developments at home and abroad, especially the evolution of the role of ombudsmen in the UK in promoting equality and human rights, and the reform of court processes in India to decide social rights claims. It suggests that a…
Administrative Justice
This article argues that the political significance of the Coalition government's proposed changes to administrative justice, including the abolition of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, is in danger of passing unnoticed, despite its potential significance for the Big Society agenda. It suggests that the retrieval of genuine perspective lies in paying closer attention both to the contemporary importance of administrative justice a…
The ombudsman as democratic ‘alternative’
This article considers the potential impact of the EU Consumer ADR Directive on the future development of public-sector ombudsmen in the UK. It suggests that, whilst the Directive might constructively encourage the reinforcement of consumer rights, any such tendency towards consumerism in the development of the ombudsman institution should be balanced by respect for the distinctive qualities of public-sector ombudsmen as agents of a form of parti…
Social rights and civil society
This article considers the actual and potential role of the law in giving force to social rights entitlement. It examines the strategic approach of the Disability Rights Commission in Britain between 2000 and 2007; the engagement of the Greek Parliamentary Ombudsman with civil society to give practical effect to European equality law, especially in respect of the Roma community; and the work of the Health Service Ombudsman in England in promoting…
Equality and Human Rights
The creation of the new GB Commission for Equality and Human Rights invites fresh reflection on the relationship between human rights and equality. This article suggests that an account of equality that goes beyond the negative notion of anti‐discrimination towards a more positive value‐driven conception of equal participation offers the best chance of fruitful coalition with a human rights approach. It also argues that human rights themselves mu…
Something older than law itself’
This article re-evaluates the intellectual context of Maine's historical jurisprudence by emphasising the importance of his classical background. Maine's time at Cambridge coincided with the rise of ‘progressive classical scholarship’, especially the study of ancient history in its social, economic and institutional setting. By exploring the links between Maine's work and that of the ancient historian Barthold Georg Niebuhr, the article argues th…
The future of equality and human rights in Britain--opportunities and risks for disabled people
The Government plans to introduce a new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), covering disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief and age. This presents both opportunities and risks for the achievement of disability equality. This paper analyses implications and proposes a long term disability rights agenda, geared to mainstreaming disability equality into the CEHR and major policy developments across Government. It …
Something older than law itself’
This article re-evaluates the intellectual context of Maine's historical jurisprudence by emphasising the importance of his classical background. Maine's time at Cambridge coincided with the rise of ‘progressive classical scholarship’, especially the study of ancient history in its social, economic and institutional setting. By exploring the links between Maine's work and that of the ancient historian Barthold Georg Niebuhr, the article argues th…
Disability Rights Commission
This paper argues that, although originally conceived as part of the ‘civil rights’ agenda, the development of disability rights in Britain by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is better seen as a movement towards the realization of social, economic, and cultural rights, and so as reaffirmation of the indissolubility of human rights in the round. As such, that process of development represents a concrete exercise in the implementation of soc…
In Vino Veritas’
Sir Paul Vinogradoff is widely regarded as the intellectual heir of Sir Henry Maine. As such, he is implicated with Maine in the failure of historical jurisprudence to displace Austinian positivism at the heart of English legal theory. Yet Vinogradoff was of a different generation and intellectual provenance from Maine. By examining the relationship between Vinogradoff's historical jurisprudence and the work of the celebrated German historian The…
Equality and Human Rights
The creation of the new GB Commission for Equality and Human Rights invites fresh reflection on the relationship between human rights and equality. This article suggests that an account of equality that goes beyond the negative notion of anti‐discrimination towards a more positive value‐driven conception of equal participation offers the best chance of fruitful coalition with a human rights approach. It also argues that human rights themselves mu…
Social rights and civil society
This article considers the actual and potential role of the law in giving force to social rights entitlement. It examines the strategic approach of the Disability Rights Commission in Britain between 2000 and 2007; the engagement of the Greek Parliamentary Ombudsman with civil society to give practical effect to European equality law, especially in respect of the Roma community; and the work of the Health Service Ombudsman in England in promoting…
The Ombudsman Enterprise and Administrative Justice ‐ by Trevor Buck, Richard Kirkham and Brian Thompson
Administrative Justice
This article argues that the political significance of the Coalition government's proposed changes to administrative justice, including the abolition of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, is in danger of passing unnoticed, despite its potential significance for the Big Society agenda. It suggests that the retrieval of genuine perspective lies in paying closer attention both to the contemporary importance of administrative justice a…
Positive about Equality
This article seeks to demonstrate what is at stake in the Coalition Government's review of the public sector equality duty introduced by s. 149 Equality Act 2010. It does so by setting the duty in the context of other legal developments at home and abroad, especially the evolution of the role of ombudsmen in the UK in promoting equality and human rights, and the reform of court processes in India to decide social rights claims. It suggests that a…
The ombudsman as democratic ‘alternative’
This article considers the potential impact of the EU Consumer ADR Directive on the future development of public-sector ombudsmen in the UK. It suggests that, whilst the Directive might constructively encourage the reinforcement of consumer rights, any such tendency towards consumerism in the development of the ombudsman institution should be balanced by respect for the distinctive qualities of public-sector ombudsmen as agents of a form of parti…
What Future for the Ombudsman
The ombudsman institution, in both the public and private sectors, is increasingly identified with the ethos of consumerism and the protection of consumer rights. The current trend is exemplified and reinforced by the EU ADR Directive and by the government response to a recent inquiry into complaints conducted by the Public Administration Select Committee. This article argues that the dominant consumerist ethos diminishes the ability of the ombud…
Disability Discrimination Law in the United Kingdom and the New Civil Rights History
This article concerns the theoretical and practical contribution of radical lawyer, feminist, and disability activist, Caroline Gooding to disability rights in the United Kingdom. It assesses the impact of her published work in the 1990s and translation of her insights into practice through her work on the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and later at the Disability Rights Commission, not least in securing in legislation a positive disability e…
Ombudsmen at the Crossroads
This book charts the evolution of the Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales. Established in 1990, it had a statutory remit that explicitly recognized its dual responsibility for consumer disp
Administrative Justice in the Wake of I, Daniel Blake
This article argues that Ken Loach's film, I, Daniel Blake , invites deep reflection on the relationship between the individual and the state, and, more particularly, on the role of administrative justice in restoring a re‐imagined sense of citizenship. Drawing on earlier debates from the 1950s, as well as on more recent advocacy of the ‘connected society’, the article proposes that to meet such an ambition, administrative justice must be recogni…
From ‘Judicial Mind’ to ‘Democratic Soul’
This article considers the relationship between law and democratic politics as manifest in the practice of ‘street‐level bureaucracy’. By glancing back to debates about citizenship and public administration between the two world wars, it sets contemporary concerns about the political constitution in broader context. In doing so, it discloses a fundamental division between conceptions of the state derived from Roman jurisprudence on the one hand, …
Dominican Ditchling and Herbert Mccabe's Sacramental Politics
This article reconsiders the lay Dominican community of artisans which gathered in Ditchling, Sussex, in the 1920s. It does so by situating Ditchling in its distinctively Dominican context and by relating it to a form of sacramental politics powerfully evoked in the work of Herbert McCabe OP. In this way, it aims to reaffirm the continuing political-theological relevance of aspects of Ditchling, and to assert a measure of continuity with the Cath…
Recalling the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
It is thirty years since the enactment of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). This article argues that the DDA was more than just another instance of anti‐discrimination legislation. Instead, it proposes that, when read in conjunction with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which followed in 2010, the DDA marks the advent not just of a ‘new legal paradigm’, of interest exclusively to lawyers, but of a new form …
Law (16 works) · Political science (16 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Law and economics (9 works) · Politics (8 works) · Public Administration (7 works) · Human rights (6 works) · Public Administration (6 works) · Economics (5 works)