ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Disregard for safeguards to insure full and
Prelims Reviewer
>that part of the law which governs the
organization, function and procedures of
administrative agencies of the government to
which legislative and judicial powers are granted,
and the extent or manner to which such agencies
are subject to the control of the courts.
Chief concern of administrative law => protection
of private rights
SCOPE:
1. Law which fixed the administrative
organization of the govt
2. Law, execution and enforcement of which is
entrusted to admin officials
3. Law which governs public officers including
their competence, rights, duties
4. Law which creates administrative agencies
5. Law which provides the remedies available
to those aggrieved by administrative actions
6. Law which governs judicial review of
administrative action
7. Rules, regulations, orders and decisions
made by administrative authorities
8. The body of judicial decisions and doctrines
Administrative process- whole series of acts of an
administrative agency whereby the legislative
delegation of a function is made effectual in
particular situations.
Advantages of Administrative Process
1. More effective/flexible preventive remedies
2. Limitations of legislative action in terms of
time, staff, specialized knowledge, expert
information and complexity of the problems
3. Limitation of judicial enforcement – courts
vary in application of laws
4. Advantage of continuing of attention and
clearly allocated responsibility
5. Need for organization to dispose of volume
of business and to provide the necessary
records
Disadvantages, Weaknesses, Criticism vs
Administrative Action
1. Tendency towards arbitrariness
2. Lack of legal knowledge/ aptitude in sound
judicial technique
3. Susceptibility to political bias/pressure
4.
fair hearing
5. Absence of standard rules and procedures
6. Dangerous combination of legislative,
executive and judicial functions
Administrative authorities – all those public
officers and organs of the government that are
charged with the amplification, application and
execution of the law.
- Does not include congress and courts by
virtue of doctrine of separation of powers
Distinguished from International Law:
- International law cannot be regarded as
binding upon the officers of any
government except insofar as it has been
adopted into the administrative law of the
state.
Distinguished from Constitutional Law:
- Consti law provides the framework of
governmental organization, while admin
law gives and carries out this plan
- Consti law prescribes limitations on the
powers of the government while admin law
indicates remedies for the violation of their
rights
Distinguished from Criminal Law:
- Consists of a body of penal sanctions which
are applied to all branches of the law
including admin law.
Distinguished from Law of Public Admin:
- Admin law is the narrower branch but it
constitutes the bulk of the law of public
administration.
- Admin law refers to the external aspect of
public admin law only.
II- Nature and Organization of Administrative
Agencies
Admin agencies can be created through:
1. Constitutional provisions which may be
self-executing
2. Legislative enactments
3. Executive acts
- Congress can delegate the power to create
positions.
Administrative Agency – boards, commissions,
divisions, bureaus and departments
Admin agency vs court
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 1. An admin body is staffed by men who are
expert in their particular fields; courts are
tribunals presided by jurists learned in law
2. An admin body performs a variety of
functions, while courts’ function is only
judicial
3. An admin body uses a varying degree of
discretion in arriving at decisions and often
proceeds without being bound by technical
rules of evidence or procedure, while the
court is governed by fixed rules that no final
adjudication is to be made until a full and
fair hearing
Main Characteristics of Administrative Agencies:
1. Size – necessarily large
- Nationwide jurisdiction and the character of
work done
2. Specialization
- Prevention or reduction of controversies
- Adjudication and rule making
3. Responsibility for results
- Admin agencies are charged by congress
with accomplishing a particular statutory
end
4. Variety of administrative duties
Consequences of Characteristics:
 Delegation of function and authority
1. Allocation of functions among the members
and staff of the agency
2. The major work of the heads of an agency is
normally supervision and direction
Delegation of Function and Authority:
1. Types
a. Delegation of internal management
b. Delegation of authority to dispose of
routine matters
c. Delegation of authority to dispose of
matters informally or to initiate informal
proceedings
d. Delegation of authority and function in
formal proceedings
2. Degree
a. Statement by agency heads of policies
b. Consideration of cases in which the
established policy is difficult
c. The requirement of weekly or daily
reports to agency heads
Types of Administrative Agencies:
1. Gov’t is offering some gratuity, grant or
special privilege
- GSIS, SSS, Public Attorney’s office
2. Gov’t is seeking to carry on certain
functions of the govt
- BIR, Bureau of Customs, Immigration, Land
Registration Authority
3. Gov’t is performing some business service
for the public
- Phil National Railways, Government
Telephone System, Natl Food Authority,
National Housing Authority
4. Govt is seeking to regulate businesses
affected with public interest
- Insurance Commission, Bureau of Air
Transportation, Land Transportation
Franchising and Regulatory board
5. Govt is seeking under the police power to
regulate private businesses and individuals
- SEC, MTRCB, Dangerous Drugs Board,
Games and Amusement Board
6. Govt is seeking to adjust individual
controversies because of some strong social
policy involved
- National Labor Relations Commission,
Employees Compensation Commission, SEC
Administrative Organization
- Refers to the administrative structure of the
government including its political
subdivisions and the allocation of powers,
functions and duties to its units.
Organization of the Office of the President:
1. The Private Office – personal matters to the
first family
2. Executive Office- headed by executive
secretary
3. Staff Support System
4. President Special Assistants/Advisers
System
Department Services: (each department shall
have the following)
1. Planning service
2. Financial and Management Service
3. Administrative Service
4. Technical Service
5. Legal Service
Bureau- refers to any principal subdivision or unit
of any department
- Are either staff bureaus or line bureaus
Staff bureau – shall primarily perform policy,
program development and advisory functions
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Line Bureau – shall directly implement programs
adopted pursuant to department policies and plans
Powers and Functions of Administrative Agencies
Source of Powers:
1. Express and Implied Powers
2. Inherent powers
3. Quasi-judicial powers
Discretionary powers – the persons exercising it
may choose which of the several course will be
followed
Ministerial duty – is one in respect to which
nothing is left to discretion
Investigatory powers - include the power of an
admin body to inspect the records and premises,
and investigate the activities of persons or entities
coming under its jurisdiction
- Sole power of investigation and its power is
limited to investigating the facts and
making findings and recommendations.
Scope and extent of powers:
1. Initiation of investigation
2. Conduct of investigation
3. Inspection and examination
4. Requirements as to accounts, records,
reports or statements
5. Requiring attendance of witnesses, giving of
testimony and production of evidence
6. Hearing
7. Contempt proceedings
8. Application of technical rules of procedure
and evidence
 Administrative power to obtain information
Right to counsel in administrative investigations:
1. Hearing not part of criminal prosecution –
hearing conducted by the investigating
body is not part of a criminal prosecution
2. Custodial investigation – police
investigation is no longer a general inquiry
into an unsolved crime but has begun to
take focus on a particular suspect
Rule Making Powers:
- Agency process for formulating, amending
or repealing a law
- Necessity to make rules and regulations
- Filling in only the details which the
Legislature may neither have time nor
competence to provide
- Binding force and effect
Advantages:
1. Rule making provides higher quality rules
2. Rule making enhances political account
ability
3. Efficiency advantages
4. Legislative rules are easier to enforce
5. Fairness advantages
6. Superior notice of rules
7. Simultaneous application of rules
8. Broad public participation
Limitations on the rule making power
1. It may not make rules inconsistent with the
consti
2. It may not alter the statute as this is the job
of the Legislature
3. An admin body may only make rules within
the limits of the power granted to it
4. Basic law prevails over such rule or
regulation
5. A rule should be uniform in operation and
not unfair or discriminatory
Kinds of Rule-Making powers
1. Supplementary or detailed legislation
2. Interpretative legislation
 Subordinate legislation which can be issued
only by statutory delegation
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