BUSINESS LAW

Higor Uchôa
 ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

I. Concept of administrative law

II. Concept and functions of administrative agency

III. Difference between an executive agency and an

independent agency

IV. Administrative Procedures Act (USA)

V. Formal, informal, and hybrid rule making

VI. Limits on agency power

 ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

CONCEPT OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

“The substantive and procedural rules created by
administrative agencies (bodies of the city,
county, state, or federal government)”

.. It consists of…
Applications Hearings

Licenses Decision making

Permits Appeals
Available information
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WHAT IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY?

“Any body created by the legislative branch (e.g.,

Congress, a state legislature, or a city council) to

carry out specific duties.”

“They may make rules for an entire industry,

adjudicate individual cases, and investigate corporate misconduct”
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AN ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY MAY BE

CALLED A…
◦ Board ◦ Department
 National Labor Relations  Department of Transportation
Board ◦ Administration
◦ Commission  Social Security Administration
 Federal Communications ◦ Agency
Commission
 Environmental Protection
◦ Corporation Agency
 Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
◦ Authority
 Tennessee Valley Authority
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HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF ADMINISTRATIVE

AGENCIES IN THE USA

• Cornelius Vanderbilt,
• John D. Rockefeller
VS
• Andrew Carnegie
• Henry Ford
• J.P. Morgan

“When Congress sees a problem that it believes needs regulation, it

may create an administrative
Agency (through passage of enabling legislation) to deal with that
problem”
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THREE SOURCES OF THE LAW

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MAIN POWERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES

▪ Rule Making
“To issue civil or criminal rules that control individual and
business behavior (procedural, interpretive, legislative)”

▪ Investigation
“To investigate potential violations of rules or statutes”

▪ Adjudication
“To settle or judge individual disputes that an agency may
have with businesses or individuals”
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TYPES OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES

▪ Executive
“These agencies are generally located within the executive
branch, under one of the cabinet level departments” (Wider -
social regulations)

“Executive-agency heads
may be discharged by the
president at any time, for
any reason”
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TYPES OF ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES

(CONT.)
▪ Independent
“The president appoints the commissioners of independent
agencies with the advice and consent of the Senate, but these
commissioners serve fixed terms and cannot be removed except
for cause” (narrow – economic regulations)

▪ Hybrid Agencies

“Created as one type of agency, the body may share

characteristics of the other”
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HOW ARE AGENCIES RUN?

▪ In the U.S. the congress passed the

Administrative Procedures Act (APA) as a major
limitation on how agencies are run (1946);

▪ Before the APA the agencies could decide on

their own how to make rules, conduct
investigations, and hold hearings and trials.
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HOW ARE AGENCIES RUN? (CONT.)

“Exemptions include rule-making proceedings with regard to “military or foreign affairs”

and “agency management or personnel (public participation depends on the agency)”
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LIMITATIONS ON AGENCY POWERS

▪ All three constitutionally created branches of government
have some measure of control over administrative
agencies.

❑ Judicial Controls

• A party seeking review must demonstrate standing to sue,

there must be actual controversy at issue, and have
exhausted all possible administrative remedies.

• Judicial review of agency action will frequently address

whether the agency has acted beyond its authority or
failed to discharge its responsibility.
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LIMITATIONS ON AGENCY POWERS (CONT.)

❑ Executive Controls

• Executive branch of government exercises

control over agencies through:

- President power to appoint federal officers;

- President’s veto power.

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LIMITATIONS ON AGENCY POWERS (CONT.)

❑ Legislative Controls

• The Congress exercises controls over agencies powers

by:

- Enacting and changing enabling legislation;

- Determining funding for the agency;
- Investigating agency actions;
- Freezing agency enforcement efforts before they take
effect;
- Amending the Administrative Procedures Act.
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LIMITATIONS ON AGENCY POWERS (CONT.)

❑ Other types of limitations
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❑ Case: Buck Creek Coal v. Federal Mine Safety

& Health Admin. (Judgement)
ALJ’s
Administ
rative
 FACTS:
Law
Judge ◦ BCC operates a coal mine. Holland, an inspector for the
MSHA charged BCC with violations of federal
regulations that were intended to prevent fires.
◦ After an administrative hearing the judge fined BCC
$2,000. BCC asked the Federal Mine Safety and Health
Review Commission to review the ALJ’s conclusions.
When the Commission declined, Buck Creek sought
review in the courts.
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❑ Case: Buck Creek Coal v. Federal Mine Safety

& Health Admin. (Judgement)
 HELD: REVIEW DENIED
◦ “[The ALJ] made [his] findings, based primarily on the
testimony of Inspector Holland . [N]o further evidence
was necessary.
◦ Nor was anything more than Inspector Holland’s
opinion necessary to support the common sense
conclusion that a fire burning in an underground coal
mine would present a serious risk of smoke and gas
inhalation to miners.”
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