Administrative Law: Sources, Principles, and Acts
Sources of Administrative Law
This refers to the origins of administrative law, its foundation and starting point. It explains the rationale behind administrative law within the legal system.
Direct Sources of Administrative Law
(Keisel Pyramid)
- Constitution, International Conventions, International Treaties
- Organic, Ordinary, and Special Acts
- Regulations and Ordinances
- Resolutions (issued by ministries)
Indirect Sources of Administrative Law
- Jurisprudence: A collection of judicial decisions that establish criteria for resolving similar legal problems.
- Customs: Social practices and habits repeated over time, sometimes influencing the creation of laws.
- Doctrine: A set of teachings or instructions based on a belief system within a specific field of knowledge or study.
- Administrative Acts: Voluntary declarations made in the exercise of public function, producing immediate legal effects. These acts represent the unilateral and imperative power of the administration.
Principle of Legality
A fundamental principle of public law stating that any exercise of public power must adhere to the established law, not individual will.
Classification of Administrative Acts
The French school categorizes administrative acts into four types:
| Type of Act | Description |
|---|---|
| Rule Act | Creates general and impersonal legal situations. |
| Subjective Act | Creates a specific legal situation affecting particular individuals. |
| Provided Act | Grants an individual a general, impersonal, and objective status previously established by a rule act, or regularizes the exercise of an existing legal power. |
| Court Action | Verifies the legal validity of a general or individual legal situation or event. |
Administrative Silence
This refers to the situation where a citizen’s request to the Civil Service (State, City, Government, etc.) goes unanswered.
Invalid Administrative Acts
An administrative act is considered invalid when irregularities violate existing superior law, rendering it ineffective. These defects are grounds for annulment.
Revocation of Administrative Acts
Revocation results from defects in the act’s constitutive elements. In administrative law, the affected individual can request nullity only when the act infringes upon their individual rights or legitimate interests. Administrative acts are either regular (correctable flaws) or irregular (seriously flawed and irremediable).
Absolute Nullity
When an act violates public policy and affects society as a whole, it has no legal effect and can be declared void by any judge. This is known as absolute nullity.
Relative Nullity
When an act is invalid due to specific flaws, stakeholders can request its cancellation. Until then, the act remains valid.
Rectification of Administrative Acts
Rectification remedies defects in originally invalid administrative acts. This process, driven by security and stability, aims to fulfill public needs. It addresses flawed measures subject to relative nullity or annulment, with no time limit for its exercise.
Review of Administrative Acts
Review procedures, distinct from administrative appeals, are second-degree procedures initiated “motu proprio” (without individual request). The administration exercises self-control, ensuring the legality, timing, and appropriateness of its actions in the public interest.