“The most significant and outstanding development of the twentieth century is the rapids growth of administrative law”-illustrate & explain
Explanation:
The most significant and outstanding development of the twentieth century is the rapid growth of admin law. It does not; mean that there was no administrative law before this century. Since many years, in one form or the other, it has been very much inexistence. But in this century, the philosophy as to the role and function of the state has undergone a radical change. The governmental functions have multiplied by leaps and bounds. Today, the state is not merely a police state, exercising sovereign functions, but as a progressive democratic state, it seeks to ensure social security and social welfare for the common man, regulates the industrial relations, exercises control over the production, manufacture and distribution of essential commodities, starts many enterprises tries to achieve equality for all and ensure equal pay for equal work. It improves slums, looks after the health and morals of the people provide education to children and takes all the steps which social justice demands. In short we can say that modern state takes care of its citizens. All these development have widened the scope and ambit of administrative law.
Definitions:
It is very difficult to define admin law. But many jurists have made attempts to define it.
Definition by Ivor Jennings:
Administrative law is the law relating to the administration. It determines the organization, powers and duties of the administrative authorities. This is the most widely accepted definition. But according to Griffith and street there are two difficulties: (i) It does not distinguish administrative law from constitutional law (ii) It is a very wide definition, for the law which determines the powers and functions of administrative authorities[1] may also deal with the substantive aspects of such powers.
Legal and Procedural:
At best the legal system is not perfect. It is instituted and preserved by men for their common good. The very persons who are most responsible for its shaping often differ widely among themselves as to its proper fundamentals. It is adopted largely to meet the needs of its time and the economic conditions, culture, and traditions of the society of, which it is a part. While law is natural and necessary it has certain disadvantages when molded by human agencies for, as it “formulates settled ethical ideas, it cannot, in periods of transition, accord with the more advanced conceptions of the present.”‘ In the United States our legal system functioned chiefly when controversies had arisen between individuals rather than as one where the executive arm of government could interfere with individuals “of its own motion prior to and apart from the existence of any controversy between them.”‘ A wholesale delegation was checked by a written Constitution embracing the principle of a separation of powers. As the demand for affirmative action or corrective intervention increased, Congress turned to the executive branch of the government which was capable of more rapid expansion and was not bound as rigidly by the system as were the other divisions. The executive, too, probably possessed more popular support and less popular control. Consequently a method of administrative regulation in contrast to, but subject to, judicial control appeared.
Reasons behind of significant growth of Administrative Law:
1. Changed relations of Authorities and Citizens
It can be seen from the present set up of the Administration that relations of the public authorities with the citizens have been deeply changed. Citizens were not directly involved in the administration in the earlier days. They were somewhat isolated from the sphere of Administration. There was a wide gap between the Administrative organs and the then citizens. This is not the case today. Today in most of the states there is a democratic Administration of either type. It is therefore, the association of the people is found to be integral. The citizens are closely isolated with the state Administration. In view of these changing relations, the basic structure of the legal set up needs to be rearranged. The Administrative law, has therefore, developed.
2. Origin of Welfare State Concept
During the period of 19th and 20th Century the concept of state was developed. According to the doctrine of welfare the basic objective of the State Administration is to achieve maximum Welfare of the masses. Each and every policy of the state should aim at maximum welfare of the people. It obviously added to the functions of state. The theory of increasing functions of the state has been accepted by almost all. Increase in functions of the states created several problems and complications. It was, therefore, thought necessary to solve the problems to enact separate Branch of Law and hence the branch known as the Administrative Law has been developed.
3. Inadequacy of the Legislations
At present there are several drawbacks in the present Legislations. It would have been, therefore, found very difficult to accommodate the new Administrative machinery in the existing legislations. In order to meet the expanding needs of changed social, economic characterized problems, the new branch of law, i.e. Administrative Law was necessary.
4. Inadequacy of Courts
As it is quite known to us that the present courts are overburdened with the huge work, it is almost impossible for the present set of courts to solve the ever crowded problems of Administration along with its own. It is therefore, proposed that there should be separate Branch of Law for the problems of Administration and hence this new Branch has been developed.
5. Technical Experts are with Administrative Organs
At present all the technical experts are with the Administrative organs. In case it is attempted to shift the legal job of Administration to the present judiciary and the present legislations, the same will be handicapped due to lack of technical knowledge.
Thus in order to utilize and use the talent of the technical experts which are at present with the Administrative organs it is really wise creating new and co-coordinating branch of law i.e. Administrative law.
And lastly, we can say that they act as an impartial arbitrator, and hence there is a need of separate Administrative Law.
6. Union of both Administrative & Judicial Function
As per the Principle of separation of powers these organs of Administration have been proposed and created. The Executive, the Legislative and Judiciary are these three organs which are functioning separately. But in order to co-ordinate both are Administrative Law for Administrative Organs.
7. The Judicial System Proved Inadequate
To decide and settle all the disputes, It was slow, costly inexpert, complex and formalistic. It was already over-burdened, and it was not possible to expect speedy disposal of even very important matters. e.g. Disputes between employers and employees, lock-outs, strikes etc. Therefore industrial tribunals and labor courts were established which possessed the techniques and experts to handle these complex problems.
8. Final Glance
In simple words, the reason behind the growing importance of Administrative law is the assumption by the Administrative authorities of very wide powers including legislative and judicial which was the result of the social welfare state. Since Administrative law is primarily concerned with the control over the exercise of their powers, i.e. to prevent Administrative authorities from abuse and misuse of powers, it has become a subject of growing interest.
Tendencies Indicating Future Development:
The growth of administrative law has been inextricably bound up with the growth of the accompanying tribunals and of the system itself, as it is the “law covering the fields of legal control exercised by law administering agencies other than courts, and the field of control exercised by courts over such agencies.” The purpose of this discussion is to indicate very general trends, and no attempt will be made to differentiate at length between specific trends in the interwoven divisions mentioned.
In an address delivered some years ago Dean Pound considered the growth of administrative justice, the primacy of the executive, and the rise of the legal standard, and stated that they were “but phases of a larger development that is heralding a new stage of legal development.” This was believed to be a tendency toward individualization; “to deal with the individuals; not the abstract individual but the concrete human being in a society of human beings.” There is substantial evidence of this-crime is treated more as a disease, there is better segregation, classification and rehabilitation of the mentally sick as well as better care of the physically ill, different standards are applied to juvenile delinquency than to adult misconduct, and there is a general re-examination of similar fields. This does not necessarily seem to result in an individualization of all administrative- fields, however. We have injected abstract standards, for example, into one of the prime examples of the administrative system, the workmen’s compensation laws. Thus schedules are provided which determine the amount that shall be paid for the loss of a leg, an arm, an eye, a life, and so on, although conceivably the actual damages may vary tremendously with individuals although doing the same work at the same pay. We might say that in such cases the tendency is to establish a closer relationship between law and economics by making the particular industry bear the burden.
Professor Dickinson has to some extent summarized the reasons for the growth of administrative law which were inherent in the legal system when he wrote:
“The particular advantages which a system of regulation by government thus has over one of regulation by law differ in the different fields of regulation, but the differences are in the matter of emphasis; the respective advantages fall, with greater or less incidence, under one or more of the following heads:
1. Regulation by government opens a way for action to be taken in the public interest to prevent future harm where there would be no assurance that any action would be taken if the initiative were left wholly to interested individuals.
2. It provides for action that will be prompt and preventive, rather than merely remedial, and will be based on technical knowledge which would not be available if it were taken through the ordinary course of law.
3. It ensures that the action taken will have regard for the interests of the general public in a way not possible if it were only the outcome of a controversy between private parties to a law-suit.
4. It permits the rules for the prevention of socially hurtful conduct to be flexible rules, based on discretion, and thus makes possible the introduction of order in fields not advantageously admitting the application of rules of a rigid and permanent character.”
Conclusions:
The growth of administrative law resulted as the natural accompaniment of the growth of administrative agencies in existence in the recognized governmental functions and of the new agencies set up to meet the needs of a changing society. The present form of the administrative system is accounted for by the fact that, while there are certain fundamental differences in American and English jurisprudence, our legal institutions were molded in the traditional principles of the common law which were familiar to, and a part of the culture of, the great majority of the colonists who established our system of government. In the United States a written Constitution has prevented the same degree of growth and concentration of powers found in England. This constitution provided for a separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers. An administrative system had been tried in England under the Tudors with great efficiency from the executive standpoint, but with such great abuse from the popular standpoint that it was virtually abolished. The prime reason for the development seems to have been
[1] Administrative authority is Official University authorization to manage the business and/or fiscal activities of an administrative unit.