Understanding Administrative Law: Scope and Nature

 
Administrative law
 
Ch1
scope
 and Nature of Administrative Law
 
Cont…
 
OBJECTIVES
:
At the end of this chapter, you should be able
to:
define administrative law
explain the scope of administrative law.
 
INTRODUCTION
 
 
All aspects of human Endeavour must be
administered well for a successful outcome.
Likewise, the affairs of the society generally
and sectionally must be administered well to
record an economic and political
achievement.
 
Cont…
 
The section that is responsible for this is the
executive arm of government of the country.
To curb the arbitrary use of power of this highly
essential part of the system, there is the need for
a law to define its role, the limitation of its
powers, remedies against the arbitrary use of its
powers, and so on.
This law is called administrative law. Thus, in this
chapter, we shall try to define what
administrative law is.
Definition
 
What is administrative law?
A branch of 
‘public law’
Primarily concern with the functions, power
and obligations of: The executive arms of
government
 or the other branches of
government as long as they serve executive
function
.
 
 
Cont…
 
Administrative law, as a branch of public law,
governs the relationship of the state and its
citizens. Specifically, it regulates the manner
of exercising power by the executive branch of
government and administrative agencies so as
to ensure its legal limits.
 Ultimately, by controlling power, it provides
protection to the citizen against ultravires
acts, abuse of power and arbitrariness.
 
Cont…
 
 
 
- “administrative law is the law relating to the
organization, powers and duties of
administrative authorities.”
 
Cont…
 
- “Administrative law is the law relating to the
control of governmental powers.”
- “Administrative law is the law relating to
administration. It determines the organization,
powers and duties of administrative
authorities .”
 
Cont…
 
- “that body of rules, which aim at reducing the
areas of conflict between the administrative
agencies of the State and the individual.”
- It embodies general principles which can be
applied to the exercise of the powers and duties
of authorities in order to ensure that the myriad
of rules available to the executive conform to
basic standards of legality and, fairness.
 
Cont…
 
- it is a branch of law that aims at keeping the
powers of government within the citizen
against their abuse, and where abused, to
provide remedy to the aggrieved citizen.
These definitions by different authors
confirm the fact that there is no single
definition of the subject; all definition
depends on the semantic, background and
personal idiosyncrasies of the writers.
 
Purpose of Administrative Law
 
 
To check abuse of administrative power.
 to protect persons  from unauthorized
encroachment of their rights and interests.
To make those who exercise public power
accountable to the people.
 
The source of Administrative Law
 
Legislation (including administrative
legislation)
Unwritten law: Practice of administrative
(customary law)
A number of judgments
Comments by jurists
 
3 Arms of Government
 
Legislative power
Essential function is make laws
Executive power
Essential function is administer programs
Ex: President; Governor
Judicial power
Essential function is resolve disputes (adjudicate)
Ex: High courts; Supreme courts; Constitutional court
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
Executive Branch
Administrative Agencies
Judicial  Functions
Legislative Functions
Executive Functions
investigation
enforcement
rulemaking
adjudicative hearings
 
The Scope of Administrative Law
 
By the term “scope of administrative law”,
we mean the coverage of administrative law.
What area does it cover?
Administrative law covers a variety of issues
amongst which are:
 
i) The Civil Service of the Federal, and
Local Government
 
There are laws binding the implementation  of
works in various departments.
The State House of Assembly enacts laws that
govern the local government administration.
 
ii) Administrative decision and rule
making procedures
 
The administrators make rules and decisions
to govern conduct of
 
government.
 In making rules:
1- they rely on facts and information.
 
2- they bear
 
in mind the nature of the problem
at hand,
 3- persons that will be affected
 
by the proposed
rules and decision.
 
Cont…
 
4- whether the matter to be attended to
 
is an
urgent one.
5- the moral stand of the rule.
6- whether the procedure
 
adopted in reaching
the decision can stand the test
 when
challenged in a court of law, etc.
 All these are what the administrative
decisions and rules deal with.
 
iii) The control of administrative
power
 
The essence of this is to avoid the arbitrary
use of power .
The machineries employed for controlling the
power
 
are the legislative control, the
Executive control and the judicial control.
 
iv) Delegated legislation and
delegation of powers
 
Under civilian regimes, the laws made by the
federal legislature are called acts, (for
instance, the Petroleum Act) while the ones
made by the states are called laws of the
State, (for instance, Lagos State Environmental
Protection Agency Law, and so on).
 
Cont…
 
However, under military regimes, federal laws are
made by Decrees. Edicts are Laws promulgated by
the state while the laws made at the local
government are called bye-laws.
 The laws passed by the law making bodies are
called legislation. Where legislation provides that
a constituted authority responsible for
administering the law can make further laws or
regulations to enable him carry out his or her
function, this latter law is called delegated
legislation.
 
v) Judicial remedies
 
Where a person is aggrieved by the
performance of an administrative function, he
is at liberty to apply to the court for redress of
the wrongful act.
 In administrative law, remedies can be
grouped into statutory remedy, common law
remedy and equitable remedy.
 
Cont…
 
1.
Statutory remedies
These are an amount stipulated within the
statute rather than calculated based on the
degree of harm to the plaintiff.
Lawmakers will provide for statutory damages for
acts in which it is difficult to determine the value
of the harm to the victim.
 Mere violation of the law can entitle the victim
to a statutory award, even if no actual injury
occurred.
 
Cont…
 
2. Common law remedies
 
These are laws developed by judges through
decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather
than through legislative statutes or executive
branch action.
 
Cont…
 
3. Equitable remedies
These are judicial remedies developed and
granted by courts of equity, and remain
available today in most common law
jurisdictions.
The two main equitable remedies are
injunctions and specific performance.
 
Cont…
 
the rules and principles of administrative law
are applicable in a relationship between
citizens and the state; they do not extend to
cases where the nature of the relationship is
characterized by a private law function.
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Administrative law is a branch of public law that governs the relationship between the state and its citizens, regulating how power is exercised by the executive branch and administrative agencies. It sets legal limits to ensure protection against abuse of power and arbitrariness, focusing on the organization, powers, and duties of administrative authorities. By controlling governmental powers, administrative law aims to minimize conflicts and provide a framework for effective administration.


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  1. Administrative law Ch1 scope and Nature of Administrative Law

  2. Cont OBJECTIVES: At the end of this chapter, you should be able to: define administrative law explain the scope of administrative law.

  3. INTRODUCTION All aspects of human Endeavour must be administered well for a successful outcome. Likewise, the affairs of the society generally and sectionally must be administered well to record an economic and political achievement.

  4. Cont The section that is responsible for this is the executive arm of government of the country. To curb the arbitrary use of power of this highly essential part of the system, there is the need for a law to define its role, the limitation of its powers, remedies against the arbitrary use of its powers, and so on. This law is called administrative law. Thus, in this chapter, we shall try to define what administrative law is.

  5. Definition What is administrative law? A branch of public law Primarily concern with the functions, power and obligations of: The executive arms of government or the government as long as they serve executive function. other branches of

  6. Cont Administrative law, as a branch of public law, governs the relationship of the state and its citizens. Specifically, it regulates the manner of exercising power by the executive branch of government and administrative agencies so as to ensure its legal limits. Ultimately, by controlling power, it provides protection to the citizen against ultravires acts, abuse of power and arbitrariness.

  7. Cont - administrative law is the law relating to the organization, powers and duties of administrative authorities.

  8. Cont - Administrative law is the law relating to the control of governmental powers. - Administrative law is the law relating to administration. It determines the organization, powers and duties of administrative authorities .

  9. Cont - that body of rules, which aim at reducing the areas of conflict between the administrative agencies of the State and the individual. - It embodies general principles which can be applied to the exercise of the powers and duties of authorities in order to ensure that the myriad of rules available to the executive conform to basic standards of legality and, fairness.

  10. Cont - it is a branch of law that aims at keeping the powers of government within the citizen against their abuse, and where abused, to provide remedy to the aggrieved citizen. These definitions by different authors confirm the fact that there is no single definition of the subject; all definition depends on the semantic, background and personal idiosyncrasies of the writers.

  11. Purpose of Administrative Law To check abuse of administrative power. to protect persons from unauthorized encroachment of their rights and interests. To make those who exercise public power accountable to the people.

  12. The source of Administrative Law Legislation (including administrative legislation) Unwritten law: Practice of administrative (customary law) A number of judgments Comments by jurists

  13. 3 Arms of Government Legislative power Essential function is make laws Executive power Essential function is administer programs Ex: President; Governor Judicial power Essential function is resolve disputes (adjudicate) Ex: High courts; Supreme courts; Constitutional court

  14. Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch Administrative Agencies Judicial Functions Executive Functions adjudicative hearings investigation enforcement Legislative Functions rulemaking

  15. The Scope of Administrative Law By the term scope of administrative law , we mean the coverage of administrative law. What area does it cover? Administrative law covers a variety of issues amongst which are:

  16. i) The Civil Service of the Federal, and Local Government There are laws binding the implementation of works in various departments. The State House of Assembly enacts laws that govern the local government administration.

  17. ii) Administrative decision and rule making procedures The administrators make rules and decisions to govern conduct of government. In making rules: 1- they rely on facts and information. 2- they bear in mind the nature of the problem at hand, 3- persons that will be affected by the proposed rules and decision.

  18. Cont 4- whether the matter to be attended to is an urgent one. 5- the moral stand of the rule. 6- whether the procedure adopted in reaching the decision can stand the test when challenged in a court of law, etc. All these are what the administrative decisions and rules deal with.

  19. iii) The control of administrative power The essence of this is to avoid the arbitrary use of power . The machineries employed for controlling the power are the legislative control, the Executive control and the judicial control.

  20. iv) Delegated legislation and delegation of powers Under civilian regimes, the laws made by the federal legislature are called acts, (for instance, the Petroleum Act) while the ones made by the states are called laws of the State, (for instance, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency Law, and so on).

  21. Cont However, under military regimes, federal laws are made by Decrees. Edicts are Laws promulgated by the state while the laws made at the local government are called bye-laws. The laws passed by the law making bodies are called legislation. Where legislation provides that a constituted authority responsible for administering the law can make further laws or regulations to enable him carry out his or her function, this latter law is called delegated legislation.

  22. v) Judicial remedies Where a person is aggrieved by the performance of an administrative function, he is at liberty to apply to the court for redress of the wrongful act. In administrative law, remedies can be grouped into statutory remedy, common law remedy and equitable remedy.

  23. Cont 1. Statutory remedies These are an amount stipulated within the statute rather than calculated based on the degree of harm to the plaintiff. Lawmakers will provide for statutory damages for acts in which it is difficult to determine the value of the harm to the victim. Mere violation of the law can entitle the victim to a statutory award, even if no actual injury occurred.

  24. Cont 2. Common law remedies These are laws developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action.

  25. Cont 3. Equitable remedies These are judicial remedies developed and granted by courts of equity, and remain available today in most common law jurisdictions. The two main equitable remedies are injunctions and specific performance.

  26. Cont the rules and principles of administrative law are applicable in a relationship between citizens and the state; they do not extend to cases where the nature of the relationship is characterized by a private law function.

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