Administrative law

is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. It is the
legal framework within which public administration is carried out. It derives from the need to
create and develop a system of public administration under law, a concept that may be compared with
the much older notion of justice under law. Since administration involves the exercise of power by
the executive arm of government, administrative law is of constitutional and political, as well as
juridical, importance.

There is no universally accepted definition of administrative law, but rationally it may be held to
cover the organization, powers, duties, and functions of public authorities of all kinds engaged in
administration; their relations with one another and with citizens and nongovernmental bodies;
legal methods of controlling public administration; and the rights and liabilities of officials.

Administrative law is considered a branch of public law. It expanded greatly during the twentieth
century, as legislative bodies worldwide created more government agencies to regulate the social,
economic and political spheres of human interaction.

Administrative law can be divided into substantive, procedural, organizational-competence and
administrative criminal law:

Substantive administrative law carries norms that regulate individual social situations to which
administrative law can be applied. It does so by saying "what is and what is not allowed, or in
other words what is valid and what is not." For example, law on registers, building regulations,
etc.
Administrative procedural law regulates how substantive law is to be applied, that is the actual
application activity of administrative authorities (procedural procedure of the authorities). In
other words, it regulates the manner in which administrative authorities are to behave in the
pursuit of their statutory interests and what rights and obligations are involved in the
administrative proceedings. The key procedural norm in this case is the Code of Administrative
Procedure. In a broader sense, this also includes legislation on the organization and powers of
administrative bodies.
Organizational-administrative law is a set of standards governing internal relations in public
administration. This is, for example, a set of service regulations.
Criminal administrative law regulates legal liability in the criminal law regime, especially
offenses.
Furthermore, we can distinguish general administrative law, on the one hand, which defines
principles, concepts and institutes for the whole area of ​​administrative law and public
administration. It forms the basis for all other fields of administrative law. And on the other
hand, special administrative law, which regulates the intervention of state power in various
specific areas regulated by the state (such as environmental law, construction law, etc.)


Bureaucracy and the role of administrative law

An inevitable consequence of the expansion of governmental functions has been the rise of
bureaucracy. The number of officials of all kinds has greatly increased, and so too have the
material resources allocated to their activities, while their powers have been enlarged in scope
and depth. The rise of bureaucracy has occurred in countries ruled by all types of government

Administrative law is valuable in controlling the bureaucracy. Under liberal-democratic systems of
government, political and judicial control of administration are regarded as complementary, but
distinct. The former is concerned with questions of policy and the responsibility of the executive
for administration and expenditure. The latter is concerned with inquiring into particular cases of
complaint. Administrative law does not include the control of policy by ministers or the head of
state.