Administrative law is the law relating to the administration and determines administrative authorities’ organization, powers and duties.
Ivor Jennings
This article will introduce the basics of administrative law, important theories and concepts. Administrative law is part of our basic legal structure. To give you a generic idea administrative law includes the powers and functions of law-making authorities and is primarily concerned with official actions and procedures that are put in place as a control mechanism by which administrative agencies stay within bounds.[1] In India, for example, administrative law is not a codified law but a judge-made law and has developed over time.
The United States of America has a three-tier legal system which consists of legislative, executive and judiciary. In any good legal system, it is important that powers are equally delegated to all authorities that possess and perform their constitutional obligations. The concentration of too much power in one department will simply lead to corruption and anarchy. This is where administrative law comes in place and supervises and monitors the duties of statutory and regulatory bodies. The United States federal administrative law encompasses statutes, common law, and directives issued by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Executive Office of the President, that together define the extent of powers and responsibilities held by administrative agencies of the United States government (both executive branch agencies and independent agencies).[2] Moreover, U.S. federal agencies have the power to adjudicate, legislate, and enforce laws within their specific areas of delegated power.[3]
Case Laws
- In the case of INS v. Chadha, “the Immigration and Nationality Act purported to empower a single house of Congress to nullify an executive-branch order regarding deportation. The Supreme Court announced a broad ban on such “legislative vetoes,” but then-Judge Breyer was dubious: “One might wonder at the formality of the [Chadha] decision. … Is the logic of the Constitution here so compelling that one can ignore the purposes, the effects, the practical virtues of the legislative veto?” [4]
- In the case of Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. NRDC,[5] the primary holding was that a government agency must conform to any clear legislative statements when interpreting and applying a law, but courts will give the agency deference in ambiguous situations as long as its interpretation is reasonable.[6]
In the field of administrative law, Stephen Gerald Breyer is a prominent name and also an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022.[7] Justice Stephen Breyer defines administrative law in four parts, these are namely, the legal rules and principles that: (1) define the authority and structure of administrative agencies; (2) specify the procedural formalities employed by agencies; (3) determine the validity of agency decisions; and (4) define the role of reviewing courts and other governmental entities in relation to administrative agencies.[8]
Unlike, India, the United States does have a codified administrative law in place. The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), provides for the roles and powers of all the agencies, and the procedures and categorizes administrative functions into formal and informal rulemaking and adjudication, which have binding effects, as well as guidance, which has no binding effect.[9] The APA further prescribes certain procedural rules which the agencies need to follow before acting in one of the functions listed.[10]
“For a decade after the passage of the Second New Deal, political leaders and many important interest groups fiercely debated what procedural requirements, if any, should be imposed on the new regulatory agencies. This debate led eventually to the passage of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) of 1946.”[11]
The APA specifically states that it intends to improve the administration of justice by prescribing fair administrative procedures.[12] The Act lays down administrative procedures, like hearings, rule-making, and ancillary matters to mention a few. Section 3 of the Act lays down matters relating to “public information”, and states that unless secrecy is required in the interest of public interest all important agency information shall be published.
[1] Tissy Annie Thomas, All you need to know about Administrative Law, June 26, 2018, Retrieved from Administrative Law -Scope, Definition and Emergence - iPleaders, last visited on: 7th July 2023. [2] United States administrative law - Wikipedia [3] Ibid. [4] Ronald Levin, Justice Breyer as administrative law pragmatist, Feb 10, 2022, last visited on: 7th July 2023, Retrieved from: Justice Breyer as administrative law pragmatist - SCOTUSblog [5] Chevron U.S.A., Inc. Vs. NRDC, 467 U.S. 837 (1984). [6] Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. NRDC :: 467 U.S. 837 (1984) :: Justia US Supreme Court Center [7] Stephen Breyer - Wikipedia [8] Breyer, Stephen, et al., Administrative Law & Regulatory Policy, Fifth Edition, at p. 3 (Aspen Pub. 2001). [9] administrative law | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu) [10] Ibid. [11] McNollgast, The Political Origins of the Administrative Procedure Act, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Vol. 15, No. 1, JLEO Bureaucracy Conference (Apr., 1999), pp. 180-217 (38 pages), Oxford University Press. [12] act-pl79-404.pdf (justice.gov)
