Administrative Justice in Wales

This article examines some of the synergies between Phil Thomas’ work and the authors’ research into administrative justice in Wales. Like him, they have examined the impact of new rights-based legislation on access to justice, and also share with him an interest in connections between politics, social policy, and access to justice. The article argues that Wales is not yet taken seriously as ‘a site in which [administrative] justice is done’, and that there remains an ‘implementation gap’ when it comes to putting innovative social policy into practice. The limited development of an administrative justice culture can hamper the achievement of social and economic justice in Wales; such a culture could be fostered with leadership from the Welsh Government and the Senedd, alongside improved training for administrators, and the potential addition of ‘a just Wales’ to the well-being goals contained in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.