Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

Basic of Administrative Law

1. Administrative law is public law. The scope of Administrative law

is expanding is very fast. Administrative law as a separate branch of
legal discipline essentially in India came to be recognised only by
the middle of the 20th century. The concept of welfare state and
socialistic society has also became instrumental to the increase of
administrative powers in our country.
Administration is heart and soul of any country. It is duty of
executive to enforce what law is passed by the parliamentarian.
Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupt absolutely.

 Administration means to enforce that is passed by
parliament or which is given in the Constitution. Today
administration is ubiquitous and it has great importance
on everyone’s life. Administration is necessary to
regulate the law. Administrative law is like dharma
through which stability and growth of the society
depends.
Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

 Without a good system of administrative law any society would

die because of its own administration weight like a Black Hole-
which is dying neutron star that collapse due to its own gravity.
Administrative law has a tremendous social function to perform.
 However, two important facts should be taken into account in
an attempt at understanding and defining the administrative
law:
Firstly, administrative law is primarily concerned with the manner
of exercising governmental power. The decision-making process is
more important than the decision itself.
 Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

 The ultimate purpose of the administrative law is controlling the

exercise of governmental power. It is impossible to define concise
definition of administrative law.
 Sir Ivor Jennings- He was British lawyer and Academic. Sir Ivor
Jennings defines administrative law as law relating to
administrative authorities.
 A student of administrative law is not concerned with how minister
is appointed but only with how a minister discharge his function
in relation to an individual or a group. How the minister of
housing and rehabilitation is appointed is not concern of
administrative law, but when this minister approves a scheme for a
new township, which involves the acquisition of houses and lands
of persons living in that area, questions of administrative law arise.
Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

 Dicey - According to Dicey’s formulation,

1. administrative law relates to that portion of a nation’s legal
system which determine the legal status and liabilities of all state
2. It defines the rights and liabilities of private individuals in their
dealing with public official
3. The Procedure by which those rights and liabilities are enforced.
Droit Administraif
Droit Administraif- Napoleon Bonaparte was the founder of
the Droit administrative. It was he who established the Counceil
d’Etat.
Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

 French administrative law is known as Droit Administratif which

means a body of rules which determine the organization, powers
and duties of public administration and regulate the relation of the
administration with the citizen of the country. Droit
Administrative does not represent the rules and principles enacted
by Parliament. It contains the rules developed by administrative
courts.
 In France as also in almost all the states in Europe, a distinction is
made between ordinary law and administrative law. Ordinary
citizens are tried under ordinary law of the land, whereas public
officials are tried under administrative law.
Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

Administrative laws are not amendable to the jurisdiction of

ordinary courts for offences committed in their official
capacity. They have a right to be tried by special courts
known as administrative courts.
The French Jurisprudence is largely based upon the Roman
Law. Private individuals who have certain grievances against
public officials can have them redressed not in an ordinary
court but in special courts known as administrative courts.
Droit Administration is a unique characteristic of the
administrative setup of France.
Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

 Droit administrative does not represent principles and rules laid

down by the French Parliament; it consists of rules developed by
the judges of the administration courts.
 Droit administration therefore includes three series of rules:
1. Rules dealing with administrative authorities and officials- These
relate to appointment, dismissal, status, salary and duties etc.
2. Rules dealing with the operation of public services to meet the
need of citizens- These services may be operated either wholly by
public officials or under their supervision or they may assist private
agencies to provide pubic utility service.
Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

3. Rules dealing with administrative adjudication- If any inquiry is

done to a private citizen by the administrative the matter would be
decided by the administrative courts. Counseil d’Etat is the highest
administrative court.
Main Characteristic feature of droit administration;
1. Those matters concerning the state and administrative litigation
falls with in the jurisdiction of administrative courts and can’t be
decided by the land of the ordinary courts.
2. Those deciding matters concerning the state and administrative
litigation rules as developed by the administrative courts are applied.
Legal Help Desk By- Keshav Choudhary

 If there is any conflict of jurisdiction between ordinary courts and

administrative council, it is decided by the tribunal des conflits.

 Despite the obvious merits of the French administrative law

system, Prof Dicey was of the opinion that there was no rule of law
in France nor was the system so satisfactory as it was in England.
He believed that the review of administration action is better in
England that in France.