scholarly journals Chevron at 30: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Author(s):  
Peter M. Shane

This Foreword introduces a Fordham Law Review symposium held in March 2014 to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. One of the most-cited administrative-law decisions of all time, Chevron has sparked thirty years of scholarly discussion concerning what Chevron deference means, when (or even if) it should apply, and what impact it has had on the administrative state. Part I of the Foreword discusses the symposium contributions that address Chevron’s scope and application, especially in light of City of Arlington v. FCC. Part II introduces the contributions that explore empirically and theoretically Chevron’s impact outside of the judicial-review context -- i.e., its effect on legislative- and administrative-drafting theory and practice, its influence within the regulatory state more generally, and its adoption (or lack thereof) in state administrative law. Part III turns to the intersection of Chevron and federalism. Part IV concludes by grappling with the contributors’ diverse views on whether Chevron is indeed a big deal and, if so, whether it is a good or bad deal for the modern administrative state.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eberhard Schmidt-Aßmann

US administrative law forms a body of law that is considered to be particularly ‘political’. From an early stage on, US administrative law has endeavoured to provide instruments and procedures that foster and implement democratic ideals and concepts; consequently, US ‘freedom of information’ and the standards of public participation in the rulemaking process have often served as a model for foreign administrative law systems. Nevertheless, the agency actions have constantly been questioned and disputed. This book offers a systematic analysis of the constitutional foundations as well as the procedures, of liability and judicial review in administrative matters, and it examines the legitimacy of the American ‘administrative state’.


Author(s):  
Somanathan TV

This chapter explores how India’s constitutional law has addressed the administrative and regulatory State as it has evolved outside the traditional branches of government, and how judicial review is exercised over it. It begins by providing a background on constitutional issues relating to the administrative State as it functions within the executive branch, before turning to a discussion of the major regulatory bodies that either are explicitly called ‘regulatory’ or exercise regulatory functions. It then considers the constitutional position of the administrative and regulatory State based on judicial decisions and on the Indian Constitution. It also examines the conceptual underpinnings of, and justification for, the regulatory State, along with some specific concerns arising from the regulatory State such as legal uncertainty and excessive delegation. The chapter concludes by analysing some of the issues associated with the emerging constitutional jurisprudence on the regulatory State.


Afrika Focus ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwadwo B. Mensah

This paper develops along the following line. First, we shall attempt to explain what discretion is, why it has become very important in the modem administrative state, and the dangers that it poses in a democratic legal system. It then looks at the problems which have to be faced in justifying judicial review of discretion. It takes an in depth analysis of legal liberalism and functionalism. Aimed with these 'lenses', it attempts to explain the theoretical basis of two important Ghanaian cases, Re Akoto , and People's Popular Party v Attorney General (PPP v AG)'. It examines the provisions which regulate the use of discretionary powers in the Ghanaian 1993 Constitution and it looks at the choices we have to make from the various theories and the development of the administrative state in Ghana.KEY WORDS: functionalism, Ghana, judicial review, law, liberalism 


2016 ◽  
Vol 273 ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Eric Biber ◽  
J. B. Ruhl

<p>Two decades ago, Professor Richard Epstein fired a shot at the administrative state that has gone largely unanswered in legal scholarship. His target was the “permit power,” under which legislatures prohibit a specified activity by statute and delegate to administrative agencies the discretionary power to authorize the activity under terms the agency mandates in a regulatory permit. Accurately describing the permit power as an “enormous power in the state,” Epstein bemoaned that it had “received scant attention in the academic literature.” He sought to fill that gap. Centered on the premise that the permit power represents “a complete inversion of the proper distribution of power within a legal system,” Epstein launched a scathing critique of regulatory permitting in operation, condemning it as a “racket” for administrative abuses and excesses. Epstein’s assessment of the permit power was and remains accurate in three respects: it is vast in scope, it is ripe for administrative abuse, and it has been largely ignored in legal scholarship. The problem is that, beyond what he got right about the permit power, most of Epstein’s critique was based on an incomplete caricature of permitting in theory and practice. This Article is the first to return comprehensively to the permit power since Epstein’s critique, offering a deep account of the theory and practice of regulatory permits in the administrative state. This Article opens by defining the various types of regulatory permits and describing the scope of permitting in the regulatory state. From there it compares different permit design approaches and explores the advantages of general permits, including their ability to mitigate many of the concerns Epstein advanced. This Article then applies a theoretical model to environmental degradation problems and concludes that if certain conditions are met, general permits can effectively respond to many of the complex policy problems of the future. Finally, this Article adds to the scholarship initiated by Epstein by proposing a set of default rules and exceptions for permit design and suggesting how they apply to complex policy problems.</p><p> </p><p>Duas décadas atrás, o professor Richard Epstein inovou nos estudos sobre o estado administrativo que ficou largamente sem resposta na área acadêmica. Seu foco era o “poder de permissão”, sob o qual a legislatura proíbe uma determinada atividade por estatuto e delega às agências administrativas de poder discricionário para autorizá-la sob termos definidos pela agência em uma licença regulatória. Descrevendo com precisão o poder de permissão como um “enorme poder no estado”, Epstein lamentou que este “recebeu pouca atenção na literatura acadêmica”. Ele procurou preencher essa lacuna. Centrado na premissa de que o poder de permissão representa “uma inversão completa da distribuição apropriada de poder dentro de um sistema legal”, Epstein lançou uma crítica severa ao licenciamento regulatório em operação, condenando-o como uma “balbúrdia” de abusos administrativos e excessos. A avaliação de Epstein em relação ao poder de permissão se mantém precisa em três aspectos: era vasta em escopo, é oportuna para abuso administrativo e foi amplamente ignorada no conhecimento jurídico. O problema é que, além do que ele acertou sobre o poder da permissão, a maior parte de sua crítica foi baseada em uma caricatura incompleta em relação à permissão na teoria e na prática. Este artigo é o primeiro a retomar de forma abrangente o tópico do poder de permissão desde a crítica de Epstein, oferecendo uma consideração profunda sobre a teoria e prática de permissões regulatórias no Estado administrativo. Este artigo se inicia definindo os vários tipos de permissões regulatórias e descrevendo o escopo da permissão no Estado regulatório. A partir daí, compara abordagens de <em>design </em>de permissão diferentes e explora as vantagens das permissões gerais, incluindo suas habilidades de mitigar muitas questões nas quais Epstein avançou. Este artigo então aplica um modelo teórico aos problemas de degradação ambiental e conclui que se determinadas condições são alcançadas, permissões gerais podem responder efetivamente a muitos dos complexos problemas de política do futuro. Finalmente, este artigo acrescenta à literatura iniciada Epstein, por meio da proposta de um conjunto de regras e exceções, um padrão para o <em>design </em>de permissão e sugere como eles se aplicam aos complexos problemas de política.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 277 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
D. A. Candeub

<p>Tirania e o direito administrativo</p><p> </p><p><em>The Federalist Papers </em>define “tyranny” as “[t]he accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many.” This definition would seem to include the modern administrative agency, which exercises all three powers. To avoid tyrannical agencies and their illegitimate exercise of power, judges and academics look to administrative law. Its procedures and requirements, such as public comment, judicial review, agency reason-giving and deliberation, and executive oversight, saddle agencies with checks and balances and, therefore, legitimacy. Yet unease with the administrative state continues; indeed, it seems to be in a constant crisis of legitimacy, suggesting that administrative law’s quest for legitimacy has not succeeded. This Article argues that this crisis of legitimacy stems from the inherent conflict between the assumptions underlying those of administrative law and the Constitution. These sets of assumptions differ profoundly over political actors’ motivations and human nature, rationality in political and administrative decision-making, and the role of executive lawmaking in a democracy. This Article compares <em>The Federalist Papers </em>and administrative law and scholarship to uncover those differences. But this Article does not engage in an “originalist” critique of administrative law. Instead, it shows that administrative law’s crisis of legitimacy inevitably proceeds from its jarring discontinuity with deep assumptions underlying our constitutional structure.</p><p> </p><p>A obra <em>O federalista </em>define “tirania” como “a acumulação de todos os poderes, legislativo, executivo e judiciário, nas mesmas mãos, seja na de um, alguns ou vários”. Essa definição pareceria incluir a agência administrativa moderna, que exerce todos os três poderes. Para evitar agências tiranas e seu exercício ilegítimo do poder, juízes e acadêmicos procuram o direito administrativo. Seus procedimentos e requerimentos, como comentários públicos, revisão judicial, agência de razão e deliberação e supervisão executiva, selam agências com verificações e balanços e, portanto, legitimação. Ainda assim, o desconforto com o Estado administrativo continua; inclusive, parece ser uma constante crise de legitimidade, sugerindo que a busca do direito administrativo por legitimidade não prosperou. Este artigo argumenta que essa crise de legitimidade se origina do conflito inerente entre hipóteses subjacentes às do direito administrativo e a Constituição. Esse conjunto de hipóteses difere profundamente das motivações de atores políticos e da natureza humana, da racionalidade na tomada de decisões políticas e administrativas, e em toda a legislação executiva na democracia. Este artigo compara a obra <em>O federalista</em>, as leis administrativas e a escolaridade para revelar aquelas diferenças. Mas este artigo não se engaja em uma crítica “original” do direito administrativo. Pelo contrário, mostra que a crise de legitimidade do direito administrativo inevitavelmente provém de chocante descontinuidade com premissas subjacentes à estrutura constitucional.</p>


Daedalus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 150 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-171
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Walker

Abstract The modern regulatory state–and the field of administrative law that studies it–is in need of “deconstruction.” That does not mean that it should be dismantled entirely. This essay does not embrace the reformers' fixation on courts as the bulwark against agency overreach. Rather, this essay develops the concept of bureaucracy beyond judicial review: not only agency actions that statute or judicial doctrine precludes from judicial review, but also agency actions that are technically subject to judicial review yet effectively insulated from it. Appreciating the phenomenon of bureaucracy beyond judicial review should encourage us to rethink theories and doctrines in administrative law. If judicial review provides no safeguard against potential abuses of power in most regulatory activities, we must turn to other mechanisms. All three branches of the federal government must play their roles, as should civil society and the agencies themselves.


Afrika Focus ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-140
Author(s):  
Kwadwo B. Mensah

This paper develops along the following line. First, we shall attempt to explain what discretion is, why it has become very important in the modern administrative state, and the dangers that it poses in a democratic legal system. It then looks at the problems which have to be faced in justifying judicial review of discretion. It takes an in depth analysis of legal liberalism and functionalism. Armed with these ‘lenses’ it attempts to explain the theoretical basis of two important Ghanaian cases, Re Akoto and People’s Popular Party v Attorney General (PPP v AG). It examines the provisions which regulate the use of discretionary powers in the Ghanaian 1993 Constitution and it looks at the choices we have to make from the various theories and the development of the administrative state in Ghana.


Author(s):  
Robert Thomas

This chapter offers some reflections and thoughts on the evolution of nineteenth-century fin de siècle administrative law in the United Kingdom. The period 1890–1910 was a time of social, political, and economic change. Administrative power was expanding and there was a need for administrative law controls over the exercise of such power. The chapter examines the following principal themes: the dominant tradition of Diceyan constitutionalism and its reaction to the growth of administrative power; the development of judicial review by the courts; and the growth of non-judicial remedies in the form of tribunals. It is argued that the period between 1890 and 1910 was a formative one for both the administrative state and administrative law. Many of the developments in administrative law during this period still provide the key building blocks on which contemporary administrative law is based.


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