Understanding Administrative Law: Principles and Sources

What Is Administrative Law?

Administrative law is defined as the set of legal rules governing the organization, functioning, and powers of public administration in its relations with individuals and other government bodies.

Characteristics of Administrative Law

• Jus Novum (New Right): A recent branch of legal science.
• Subordinate Law: Dependent on higher legal frameworks, specifically the Constitution and constitutional laws.
• Mutable: Constantly evolving to meet the public interest and the state's changing functions for the common good.
• Common: Applicable to all administrative activities, such as municipal taxation, with principles relevant to all subjects.
• Autonomous: A distinct branch of law with its own general principles.
• Local: Concerned with the political organization within the country.

Sources of Administrative Law

A source is the generative principle that gives rise to legal implications. In administrative law, sources are facts and events from which principles and standards emerge.

Direct Sources (Written Law)

These possess the potential to produce binding legal rules. They include:

• The Constitution
• Statutory Law (in formal and material senses)
• Regulations:
  • Executive
  • Independent
  • Delegated
  • Emergency (In need)

Indirect Sources (Unwritten Law)

These are subsidiary to direct sources and must align with them to be valid. They include:

• Custom
• Analogy
• Equity
• General principles of law

Core Legal Principles

The Principle of Legality

The principle of legality is the foundation for all administrative actions. Recruitment, management, and disposal of public goods and services must be subject to the law. Administrative penalties may only be imposed when provided by express legal provision. All activities of state bodies, authorities, and officials must conform to the Constitution and the law within established limits.

Administrative Discretion

Discretion is the power to weigh the public interest. It is not an extralegal power but the exercise of authority granted by the legal system for a specific function. Discretion is only valid when determined by statute; therefore, it cannot be absolute but must remain partial, observing and complying with specific elements defined by law.