Administrative Law Proceedings: Key Elements and Characteristics
Administrative Law Proceedings: Key Elements
General Characteristics:
a) Administrative Activity and Budget: A prerequisite for a contentious administrative process is an administrative act, measure, or omission by the administration.
b) Technique Control of Legality: The judiciary, separate from the executive, ensures the administration complies with the law. Courts are subject to the rule of law, and the administration must act within legal boundaries, even when making discretionary decisions.
c) Litigation as a Control System: The litigation process is a control system that goes beyond mere annulment. While the petitum often seeks invalidation of a contested act, claims can include declarations of obligation for the administration.
d) Character Device: This process involves parties, not just a review mechanism. The Administration and co-defendants cannot raise counterclaims. The Court may not deviate from the grounds presented by the parties. However, to ensure legality, the judge can introduce new evidence, subject to the parties’ input.
Process Elements
Subjects:
a) Applicant: The person challenging an administrative action or inaction. This is usually someone outside the government, but can also be a government entity challenging another’s actions.
b) Respondent: The public administration or body that issued the contested act. In cases of harmfulness, the Administration is not the defendant, as it is challenging its own acts.
c) Co-defendant: Persons or entities whose rights may be affected by the plaintiff’s claims. They have the opportunity to defend the contested action.
To be a party to administrative disputes, one must have standing or capacity to be part of the process. This is generally granted to those with full civil rights. Exceptions include minors defending their rights and affected groups or unions when the law allows.
Parties must be represented by an attorney and assisted by counsel. Public administrations are usually represented by their legal services but may appoint outside counsel.
Legitimization: This refers to the necessary connection between a person and the process’s object. It can be active (standing to sue) or passive (who should be sued). The law grants standing to those with a right or legitimate interest that is present and true. There are also special cases of legitimation, such as corporate legitimacy for groups and legitimizing the AAPP for public administrations. Class actions and neighborhood actions also have special standing.
Object of Administrative Proceedings
a) Administrative Action: The typical object of a contentious-administrative process.
b) Regulations and Legislative Decrees: These can be challenged directly or indirectly through an act produced under the provision. The new law introduces the question of illegality.
c) Failure by the Administration: This includes a lack of benefits or services the administration is obligated to provide. Those entitled can claim if the administration has not complied within 3 months. There is also a possibility to apply for execution within 1 month.
d) The Use of Force: When the administration performs a material action without a prior administrative act, the applicant can request the cessation of actions.
The Claim
When challenging acts, regulations, or legislative decrees, claims can seek:
a) Declaration of unlawfulness and cancellation.
b) Recognition of a legal situation and measures for its full restoration, including compensation.
When challenging administrative inactivity, the claim seeks a court order for the administration to fulfill its obligations.
In disputes, claims can include cancellation, recognition of a legal situation, and cessation of irregularity.
Contentious-Administrative Proceeding: The Regular Procedure
a) Initiation
Vía Administrative Approval: Before disputes between public authorities, a prior request to the author of the act is required. This is optional, and the Administration can directly call the RCA.
The filing of the RCA: This is done by the applicant and can be through a letter citing the act or through a demand. The period for filing is usually two months for an express act or general provision, and from the day following the notification. For inactivity, it is from the day following the expiration of 3 months or 1 month. For harmfulness appeal, it is from the day following the declaration of harmfulness. For disputes between authorities, it is from the day following the receipt of communication. The deadline is 6 months to challenge the acts alleged. For challenging routes fact, if there was prior requirement to the Administration 10 days will run from the day following within ten days of making the request. If no such request had practiced the deadline for filing is 20 days from that on which the administrative action was initiated in irregularity.
The court will consider the formal correctness of the act of filing. After publicises the act of filing, those who wish to appear as co-defendants have 15 days. The Administration must notify interested parties. The Judge or Court requires referral of the administrative file within 20 days. Failure to send the file can result in penalties.
The court may declare the inadmissibility resource for reasons such as lack of jurisdiction, lack of legitimization, expired term, or challenging a firm ruling.
The Precautionary Measures
The Administration has the privilege of executing its own actions. Precautionary measures can be requested at any stage to ensure the effectiveness of the sentence. The criteria for granting the measure include balancing interests and the potential loss of the purpose of the appeal. Special arrangements exist for challenging the Administration’s inactivity and irregularity. If a precautionary measure could cause losses, the court may issue measures to mitigate them.
PROCEDURE: Demand and Answer
The court summons the appellant to formalize the demand within 20 days. The demand is then transmitted to the parties to formalize their defense. The term is 20 working days. Parties can request documents and provide facts and legal arguments. Previous claims can be assessed for formal admissibility. The parties may request the inquiry process in their respective statements of claim and reply indicating the points of fact on which should cover. The court may agree to ex officio reception of evidence and trial practice of evidence it deems oportuno. The practice test develops without any specialty in accordance with the criteria of the LEC. Views or conclusions closes the process.
TERMINATION
Discontinuance of the plaintiff: The plaintiff can end the process at any time before sentencing. The court can reject the withdrawal if it opposes the administration or when assessing damage to public interest.
A raid on the defendants: The defendant recognizes the plaintiff’s claims before sentencing. The court will issue a sentence in accordance with the plaintiff’s claims.
Extra-satisfaction of the claims: The Administration recognizes some of the plaintiff’s claims. The court will issue a decree declaring the end of the procedure.
Conciliation or transaction between the parties: The parties can reach an agreement to end the dispute. The court will issue a self-declared closed procedure.
Termination by Case: The usual way of ending a contentious-administrative process by ruling. The content of the sentence can be of three types: Inadmissibility of recurso, appeal granted, or appeal dismissed. The effects of judgments can be inter partes or erga omnes.
SENTENCING REGIME: The law supports cases of implementation or the expropriation of the rights recognized in the statement. The simplified procedure is a business with shorter deadlines. This procedure is regulated in Article I mainly want to know their purpose, ie hearing the following issues: Those who remain the responsibility of the courts of administrative litigation alternately meet one of two requirements: be value of less than 13,000 euros, or treated in personnel matters not relating to the birth or civil service relationship is terminated, aliens, rejection of asylum applications, disciplinary matters concerning sports dopaje.
Procedimientos especiales:
- The procedure for the protection of fundamental rights persona
- La question ilegalidad
- Casos prior administrative suspension of acts or agreements of the local Corporations