Understanding Administrative Procedure: Principles & Effects
Principle of Equality: Individuals who are considered stakeholders in the process.
Principle of Advertising: Access to and knowledge of the relevant proceedings.
Principle of Free Procedure: The processing is, in general, free to the public. Exceptions include due diligence expenses or actions requested in procedures in the field of public finance, by reason of service or benefit.
Effects of Administrative Actions
Effects generally occur after the date on which the events are held, unless otherwise specified.
It’s important to note that efficiency is not the same as validity. There are acts that may be invalid, yet effective under the presumption of legitimacy of action by the Administration. Conversely, there are acts temporarily valid but ineffective. Efficiency is the possibility of producing the intended effects against possible resistance.
Demonstrations of Effectiveness:
- Enforceability: The compulsory power of the act, founded on the presumption of legitimacy, allows for completion against the wishes of the recipients.
- Action Office: The possibility for the Administration to impose behaviors that derive from the act’s contents. The administration has a number of instruments for this (art. 96-100 LRJPAC). The bodies of the Administration may, prior warning, enforce administrative acts (except for exceptional cases where intervention is needed from the courts, such as wiretapping privacy).
The administrative procedure is essential for any organization to manage its actions effectively. It provides a structured approach to determine how to organize them. The determination of the proceedings allows for advance knowledge of channels and orderly conduct of government for achieving specific objectives. These procedures are fixed and serve as a measure to safeguard general interests. The procedure is where interactions between citizens and government materialize, allowing citizens to defend themselves. In short, the procedure covers warrants, enabling defense and appeal.
Rules of Administrative Procedure, as outlined in Law 30/1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and Common Administrative Procedure (amended by Law 4/1999), meets the constitutional mandate of Art. 149.1.18. The law regulates the three core subjects of the administrative system:
- The basis of the legal regime of public administrations
- The common administrative procedure
- The system of responsibility of all government
Administrative procedure Subjects:
- Administration: (State, Autonomous Regions, Local Bodies). Through bodies (competition affects the validity of the [revocation or cancellation]), served by individuals (the conditions of which relieves the assumptions regarding abstention or objection).
- Interested Parties: All affected citizens. Those interested must have the following: Training, Capacity to act, Legal standing.
Principles of Administrative Procedure:
- Inquisitorial Principle: A principle related to the administration, implying that the administration has powers to assess the facts and the procedure.
- Principle of Contradiction: Refers to stakeholders, giving them the opportunity to participate in the procedure (ask for documents, request a hearing).
- Principle of Participating in the Exercise of Administrative Power: The authority sits with stakeholders and negotiate the resolution (unilateral), with covenants, agreements or contracts. There are two possible situations:
- Consensual Base: Defining a common base and the Administration decides to act themselves final.
- Ser Consensus: Defining a common basis and also act.