MODULE 1

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

Preliminaries
Module Title : Module 1 - Introduction to Administrative Law
Course Title : Administrative Law
Course Number : PA 226
Course Description :
This course covers an examination of basic principles of law with which the
administrator should be familiar; judicial enforcement of administrative decisions, and
legal remedies against administrative decisions, and legal remedies against administrative
sanction.

Total Learning Time : 3 hours per week (2 weeks)

Pre-requisite : Intro to PA

Overview:

This module is the introductory part for administrative law. It provides the definition of
this field of law including its scope, origin and development, and its distinguishing
characteristics from other fields of law or concepts. Moreover, the criticisms for
administrative action are included in this module.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the module, the students must:

1.1 Define administrative law.
1.2 Have an overview of the concept of administrative within the context of the
Philippine legal system.
1.3 Define administrative authorities or agencies.
1.4 Distinguish administrative law from international law, criminal law, constitutional
law and the law of public administration.
1.5 Discuss the origin and development of administrative law.
1.6 Enumerate the criticisms against administrative actions.
1.7 Distinguish and discuss administration of government and administration of
justice, administration as a separate power and administration as an organization
vs. government

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Indicative Content:
1.0 INTRODUCTION TO ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
1.1 Concept of Administrative Law
1.2 Scope of Administrative Law
1.3 Administrative Law Distinguished from Other Branches of Law
1.4 Origin and Development of Administrative Law
1.5 Criticisms against Administrative Action
1.6 Administration of Government vs. Administration of Justice
1.7 Administration as a Separate Power
1.8 Administration as an Organization vs. Government

Pre- Assessment (Optional)

N/A

Discussion:
Introduction to Administrative Law
Law means any rule of action or any system of uniformity. In general, it determines
not only the activities of men as rational beings but also the movements or motions of all
objects of creation, whether animate or inanimate.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW - that branch of public law dealing with the doctrines
and principles governing the powers and procedures of administrative agencies including
especially judicial review of administrative action.
It has been defined in its widest sense as "the entire system of laws under which
the machinery of the State works and by which the State performs all government acts.
Thus, the term would embrace all the laws that regulate or control the administrative
organization and operations of the government including the legislative and judicial
branches.
Other very broad definitions refer to it as "the law which provides the structure of
government and prescribes its procedure”, "the law which controls or is intended to
control the administrative operations of the government, or "the law of governmental
administration."
In a less comprehensive sense, it has been referred to "as that part of public law
which fixes the organization and determines the competence of the administrative
authorities, and indicates to the individual, remedies for the violation of his rights."
It is "that branch of modern law under which the executive department of
government acting in a quasi-legislative or quasi- judicial capacity, interferes with the

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conduct of the individual for the purpose of promoting the well-being of the community,
as under laws regulating public corporations, business affected with a public interest,
professions, trades and callings, rates and prices, laws for the protection of the public
health and safety and the promotion of the public convenience and advantage."
An ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY is any governmental authority other than a
court or legislative body performing rule-making or adjudicatory functions.
“AGENCY” – includes:
• any department, bureau, office, commission, authority or officer of the
National Government authorized by law or executive order to make rules, issue licenses,
grant rights or privileges, and adjudicate cases;
• government corporations with respect to function regulating private right,
privilege, or occupation or business;
• officials in the exercise of disciplinary power as provided by law.
(Sec. 2 (1), Book VII, E.O. 292 or Administrative Code of 1987)

Scope of Administrative Law

Broadly conceived, administrative law covers the following:
(1) the law which fixes the administrative organization and structure of the
government;
(2) the law, the execution or enforcement of which is entrusted to administrative
authorities;
(3) the law which governs public officers including their competence (to act),
rights, duties, liabilities, election, etc.;
(4) the law which creates administrative agencies, defines their powers and
functions, prescribes their procedures, including the adjudication or settlement
by them of contested matters involving private interests;
(5) the law which provides the remedies, administrative or judicial, available to
those aggrieved by administrative actions or decisions;
(6) the law which governs judicial review of, or relief against, administrative actions
or decisions;
(7) the rules, regulations, orders and decisions (including presidential
proclamations) made by administrative authorities dealing with the
interpretation and enforcement of the laws entrusted to their administration;
and
(8) the body of judicial decisions and doctrines dealing with any of the above.

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Administrative Law Distinguished from Other Branches of Law

Distinguished from international law.

Administrative law lays down the rules which shall guide the officers of the administration
in their actions as agents of the government.
International law, on the other hand, cannot be regarded as binding upon the officers of
any government considered in their relation to their own government except insofar as it
has been adopted into the administrative law of the state.

Distinguished from constitutional law.

(1) Constitutional law prescribes the general plan or framework of governmental
organization, while administrative law gives and carries out this plan in its minutest
details;
(2) Constitutional law treats of the rights of the individual, while administrative law
treats them from the standpoint of the powers of the government; the first lays stress
upon rights, the second emphasizes the powers of government and duties of the citizens;
and
(3) Constitutional law prescribes limitations on the powers of the government to
protect the rights of individuals against abuse in their exercise, while administrative law
indicates to individuals, remedies for the violation of their rights.

Distinguished from criminal law.

Criminal law or penal laws consist really of a body of penal sanctions which are applied
to all branches of the law, including administrative law. A rule of law protected or enforced
by a penal sanction may be really administrative in character, for indeed, one of the most
common and efficient means of enforcing a rule of administrative law is to give it a penal
sanction, and the mere affixing of a penalty to the violation of a rule of administrative
law does not deprive such rule of its administrative character.

Distinguished from law of public administration.

Public administration has to do with the practical management and direction of the
various organs of the State and the execution of state policies by the executive and
administrative officers entrusted with such functions.

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The subject matter of administrative law is public administration. Since administrative law
covers all laws that concern public administration, the two are apparently synonymous
with each other. However, a highly technical distinction is observed between them. The
true field of administrative law, it is pointed out, refers only to the external aspect of
public administration. Thus, administrative law is the narrower branch but it constitutes
the bulk of the law of public administration.

Origin and Development of Administrative Law

(1) Recognition as a distinct category of law. — Administrative law is of

comparatively recent origin.29 Under the Anglo-American system,
administrative law is not one of the traditionally recognized parts of the law,
such, for example, as the criminal law, the common law, and equity. However,
it is only in the last few decades with the rapid expansion of administrative
agencies and their increased functions that a substantial body of jurisprudence
has developed in the field and general recognition has been given to
"administrative law" as a distinct category of law.

(2) Multiplication of government functions. — Originally, the government had but

few functions as there were but few activities to regulate and control. But as
modern life became more complex, the subjects of government regulations
correspondingly increased, which, in turn caused a multiplication of
government functions, necessitating an enormous expansion of public
administration. And so, the legislature had to create more and more
administrative bodies, boards or tribunals specialized in the particular fields
assigned to them and to which the legislature and the courts were found not
to be equipped to administer properly and efficiently.

(3) Growth and utilization of administrative agencies. — Administrative law

developed as the natural accompaniment of the growth of administrative
agencies and their utilization in response to the needs of a changing society.

(4) Fusion of different powers of government in administrative agencies. —

Administrative law, then, resulted from the increased functions of government,
the recent tremendous growth in administrative agencies, and the fact that the
agencies created in this period of growth were much more than conventional
administrative officials such as had existed under earlier legislation.

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 (5) A law in the making. — Administrative law is still in its formative stages and is
being developed as part of our traditional system of law. The administrative
process and its agencies are newcomers in the field of law but administrative
agencies are now established as very important tribunals in the administration
of justice, making decisions sometimes of vast importance and equal to matters
determined by the courts.

Definition of Administrative Process

The term administrative process includes the whole of the series of acts of an
administrative agency whereby the legislative delegation of a function is made effectual
in particular situations. It embraces matters concerning the procedure in the disposition
of both routine and contested matters, and the matter in which determinations are made,
enforced, and reviewed.

Criticisms Against Administrative Action

The recognized weaknesses of administrative agencies considered typical have been
summed up as follows:
(1) Tendency towards arbitrariness;
(2) Lack of legal knowledge and aptitude in sound judicial technique;
(3) Susceptibility to political bias or pressure, often brought about by uncertainty
of tenure;
(4) A disregard for the safeguards that insure a full and fair hearing;
(5) Absence of standard rules of procedure suitable to the activities of each
agency; and
(6) A dangerous combination of legislative, executive, and judicial functions.

Administration of Government vs. Administration of Justice

Those charged with the administration of government are known as administrative
officers while those charged with the administration of justice are known as judicial
officers.
The difference between the two functions lies in the nature of the work done by the two
groups of officers.
The work done by the latter consists in the decision of controversies between individuals
and government officers, as to the applicability in the cases in question of a particular
rule of law. On the other hand, the work done by the former is not necessarily, or even

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often, the result of any controversy and is not merely dependent on the solution of the
question "what is the law" but made also as a result of consideration of expediency. Thus,
in the first kind of work, all that judicial officers have to do is to determine what law is
applicable to the facts brought before them; in the second kind of work, administrative
officers must determine, of course, what is the law in order to determine whether they
are competent to act, but furthermore, they must decide whether in case they are
competent to act, it is wise for them to act.

Administration as a Separate Power

In the traditional classification of governmental power, no recognition is given to
administration as a separate function of government. It was and is still confused with and
treated as a part of the executive function. The term probably cannot be so plainly defined
because it may slightly overlap the legislative field and the judicial field. Administration is
both the function of execution of the law (or management of government affairs) and the
totality of the executive and administrative authorities.

Administration as an Organization Distinguished from Government.

The term government refers to that "institution or aggregate of institutions by which an
independent society makes and carries out those rules of action which are necessary to
enable men to live in a civilized state, or which are imposed upon the people forming that
society by those who possess the power or authority of prescribing them. Government is
the aggregate of authorities which rule a society."
On the other hand, the term administration refers to the aggregate of those persons
in whose hands the reins of government are entrusted by the people for the time being.

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Exercises/Drills:
1. Using the internet, search for at least one (1) administrative agency under the
Philippine government. Answer the following:

a. What is the name of the administrative agency?

b. What created the agency?
c. What is the mandate or purpose of the agency?
d. Do you think the agency was able to effectively implement its mandate?

Evaluation:
Post-Test/Quiz
Answer the following as required:
1. What is administrative law?
2. What is an administrative agency?
3. What is an administrative process?
4. Distinguish administrative law from constitutional law.
5. What are the criticisms against administrative action?

Instructions for the Submission of the Exercise and Evaluation:

1. You may encode your answers and save in a word/pdf file. You may also write
your answers in a piece of paper and scan/take a picture of the page/s.
2. Send your answers/output with the following details:

Subject: Module No._Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial_Year & Section

Example: Module No. 1_Dela Cruz, Juan A._BPA 2-A

Send to: docetochevic12@gmail.com

3. Please indicate your complete and true name as indicated in your enrollment
form.

4. Deadline for submission is on March 8, 2023 (Wednesday) at 5pm.

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Additional Reading:
1. Please read in full the introductory part of the book – Administrative Law by De
Leon and De Leon (2016), pp. 1 - 21.

References:

• Agpalo, R. (2005). Administrative Law, Law on Public Officers and Election Law.
Rex Bookstore.

• De Leon, H. (2016). Administrative Law: Text and Cases. Rex Bookstore.

Prepared by:

ATTY. TOCHE VIC B. DOCE, RN, MAN, DPA

Part-Time Faculty