Answer:- Administrative Law – Defined – Administrative
law is a branch of public law, which deals with the structure, powers and
functions of the organs of administration; the limits of their powers and the
methods, by which their powers are controlled, including the legal remedies
available against them.
Prof. Jennings
defines administrative law as the “law relating to administration. It
determines the organization, powers and duties of administrative authorities”.
In English and American administrative law, the organization of administrative
authorities is not treated as the subject of discussion, whereas in France, Italy
and other continental countries the discussion on organization of
administrative authorities is regarded as one of the essentials of the subject
of administrative law. H.L.A. Hart
does not include the discussion on the organization of administrative
authorities in the definition of administrative law. He defines: “Broadly
conceived, administrative law include law, that is made as well as the law, that
controls the administrative authorities of the Government.”
Dicey
has defined administrative law as, “it is that portion of a nation’s legal
system, which firstly, determines the legal status and liabilities of all State
officials, and secondly, defines the rights and liabilities of private
individuals in their dealings with public officials, and thirdly, specifies the
procedure by which those rights and liabilities are enforced.” This definition
is narrow and restrictive in so far as it does not take into consideration many
aspects of administrative law, such as public corporations etc.
His definition is
mainly concerned with one aspect of administrative law, namely, judicial
control public corporations etc.
In England, he
says, that the system of administrative law and the very principle on which it
rests are, in truth, unknown. This view of Prof. Dicey was not well founded.
Administrative law, in fact, in modern context, deals with the exercise of
those functions of the Executive which as a matter of fact, are not within the
traditional reach of administration and their functions.
A number of
definitions have been given by jurists.
Prof.
Wade
has defined it as the law concerned with the operation and control of the
powers of administrative authorities with emphasis on function rather than on
structure.
Ivory
Jennings’ definition is broad and reflects a balanced approach
when he says, “Administrative law is the law relating to the administration. It
determines the organization, powers and duties of administrative authorities.”
K.C.
Davis defines administrative law as the law concerning the
powers and procedures of administrative agencies, including especially the law
governing judicial review of administrative action. An administrative agency is
a governmental authority, other than a court and other than a legislative body,
which affects the rights of private parties through either adjudication or
rule-making. Thus Prof. Davis has pointed out the three large segments of
administrative law which relate to transfer of power from legislative to
administrative agencies, exercise of the powers by the agencies and review of
administrative action by the court. According to Prof. Davis it does not
include the enormous mass of substantive law produced by the agencies, much of
which is beyond the understanding of lawyers as such. It includes judicial
review of executive or administrative action not involving either adjudication
or rue making.
Jennings’
definition, however, falls short of Davis’ definition in one respect. While
Davis lays emphasis on procedures used by administrative agencies in exercising
their powers, Jennings does not mention procedures directly and specially – he
only leaves it to American view and the English approach to the administrative
law. The English administrative law does not lay so much emphasis on procedures
of administrative bodies as does the American administrative law where this
branch of law is often designated as “administrative process”.
Prof.
Wade. – According to him since administrative law deals with the exercise of
governmental powers, it is itself a part of the constitutional law. The
essence of administrative law lies in judge made doctrines which apply right
across the board and which therefore set legal standard of conduct for public
authorities generally.
Prof.
Hart
says – “Broadly conceived, administrative law includes law that is made by
judges as well as the law that controls the administrative authorities of a
government.” Both these definitions have ignored certain aspects of the subject
which strictly fall within the scope of administrative law today. But it is
true that administrative law in modern times is primarily concerned with
techniques of control over the exercise of the multifarious powers of
administrative authorities rather than their structure.
Professor Schwartz defines administrative law in
the following words :
“Administrative
law is that branch of law which controls administrative operation of the
government.”
Justice
P.N. Bhagwati (Former Chief Justice of India) – “Administrative
Law is that branch of the law which seeks to ensure observance of the rule of
law” (Foreword to Massey’s book Administrative Law (2001) P.V.]
Broadly speaking,
administrative law deals with composition and powers of different organs of
administration, the limits of their powers; the procedure which the
administrative authorities shall adopt in exercise of their powers and the
various modes of their control including particularly judicial control over the
different kinds of powers exercised by them. Precisely it deals with the
quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers of the administrative authorities
along with their executive powers and their control.
After considering
these various definitions it can be concluded here that administrative law
deals with the powers of administration particularly quasi – judicial and their
control.
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Courtesy:- Dr.
Deepak Miglani
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