Y.E. Schuurmans

Nut en noodzaak van een algemene codificatie van bestuursrecht

This article on the usefulness of a general codification of administrative law forms the closing contribution of a NALL-special. In this special, various authors have reflected on the successfulness of a broad codification process in 1998, which introduced rules on the notification of decisions, policy rules, subsidies, enforcement and supervision of administrative authorities in the Dutch General Administrative Law Act (GALA). The editors asked the contributors whether the objectives of the rules introduced were met and how the rules turned out to function in practice. In this overarching article, the NALL-editors reflect on the general lessons to be learned for the GALA-legislator. In these lessons they also take into consideration the initiatives for a law of administrative procedure of the European Union.

The Law on Administrative Procedures in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands law in general embodies two kinds of legal rules concerning administrative procedures. First, there are hundreds if not thousands of statutory provisions that grant administrative authorities the power to act for the purpose of performing a public service and that regulate such action in a detailed way. This includes specific rules in numerous branches of law, such as social security law, immigration law or environmental law. Further, since 1994 the Netherlands has had the General Administrative Law Act (‘GALA’) (Algemene wet bestuursrecht or Awb), which contains rules for orders made by administrative authorities and that creates the right of appeal to an administrative court. This Act regulates the process of administrative decisionmaking in a general sense and provides a general framework for legal protection against the orders issued.

Review of Facts in Administrative Law Procedures: A European Community Law Perspective

Fact-finding is invariably a part of administrative decision-making. In administrative law procedures the courts in general refrain from repeating this fact-finding process but, instead, review the fact-finding procedure. This contribution seeks to examine the requirements placed by the Community courts on the national courts’ reading of the facts in matters involving EC law. In this context, a parallel will be drawn with the standards upheld by the Community courts as regards their own review of facts, in the context of direct appeals against decisions taken by the Community institutions. It will be examined to what extent this review by the Community courts agrees or contrasts with the review performed in Dutch administrative law courts. A more uniform method of reviewing facts could enhance the harmonisation and implementation of EC law.