Administrative Law

Administrative Law, body of law applicable to the operations of agencies established by the legislature to carry out the functions of the executive branch of government. The Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Communications Commission are examples of such agencies in the U.S.

Although the term administrative law was not used until the 20th century, the concern with maintaining controls over the power of government goes back in English law as far as the Magna Carta. By the 19th century, courts on the European continent had recognized a separate administrative law, which was often known by the French term droit administratif. In the U.S. it was the New Deal of the 1930s, with its accompanying proliferation of government agencies, that led the courts to apply a distinctive body of law to the operation of these agencies.

Administrative bodies are created and given power by federal or state legislation. It is the function of administrative law to set forth the extent of this power, the limitations on it, and its applications to private individuals and groups. The law is basically concerned with whether proper standards are applied by administrative agencies in exercising their powers and in making and enforcing regulations. If an agency does not apply the proper standards, its failure may be redressed by application to the courts. Although a court may not substitute its own judgment for that of the agency in determining whether a given regulation is desirable, the court may declare the regulation a nullity if the agency, by promulgating such a regulation, has exceeded the authority conferred by the legislature. In determining that a regulation has been violated, substantial proof is required, but the agency is not bound by the laws of evidence that apply in court trials.

With the multiplication of federal administrative agencies in the U.S. during the 1930s, a means of making administrative regulations reasonably accessible to the public became necessary. The Federal Register Act (1935) provides that all federal regulations must be published in the Federal Register; a regulation that is not published in this manner is not binding upon persons who are unaware of its existence. Periodically, all federal regulations still in force must be codified and published in a compilation called the Code of Federal Regulations. The Administrative Procedures Act (1946) provides that before a federal agency promulgates a general regulation, interested parties must be afforded an opportunity to present their views. Another safeguard is that the investigation and prosecution of alleged violations may not be undertaken by the same persons who will render the judgment.