Towards Implementation of the Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration through Reforms of the Public Administration System

This chapter discusses the impact of the pan-European general principles of good administration on Armenian administrative law. The chapter claims that successful reform of Armenian public administration is an indispensable prerequisite for successful implementation of these principles but that there is still a long way to go. Besides this, the Armenian legal order is generally open to being shaped and influenced by the said principles and demonstrates numerous successful examples thereof. Nevertheless, the chapter highlights that usually the Armenian legislator is the only one to transfer these principles into Armenian law. It describes the reception of the pan-European general principles of good administration as still being under development in Armenia. The chapter concludes that in order to guarantee the full extent of ‘good administration’ it remains necessary that general reforming of Armenian public administration be successfully implemented.

Georgian Administrative Law

This chapter discusses the impact of the pan-European principles of good administration on Georgian administrative law. It shows that the legal reforms and modern administrative legislation that started in Georgia in the 1990s were mostly influenced, and directed by, Western values and European principles, including core provisions of the Council of Europe. This influence has manifested itself, among other things, in the Georgian legislator giving constitutional importance to the right to a fair hearing in administrative proceedings and underlining the importance of good administration. Moreover, special parts of administrative law, such as regulation of local self-governance and personal data protection, have also not been immune to this influence, which has been strengthened by the progressive approach undertaken by Georgian courts.

Good Administration in the Administrative Law of the Republic of Latvia

This chapter explores the impact of the pan-European general principles of good administration on the Latvian legal system. The chapter concludes that there is a conceptual match between the administrative law of Latvia and the pan-European general principles of good administration. This, among other things, is reflected by the fact that recommendations of the Council of Europe (CoE) were used as models for complementing the Latvian code of administrative procedure. It furthermore claims that general acceptance of the principle of good administration in the Latvian legal order in particular considerably facilitates reception of the CoE’s work in the realm of administrative law. At the same time the chapter highlights that implementation of the principles of good administration in Latvia could be improved and used in a more precise manner.

The Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration in Lithuania

This chapter discusses the impact of the pan-European general principles of good administration in Lithuania. It shows that there is a general openness to incorporating these principles into the Lithuanian legal system, albeit not without limitations. This can be attributed to three major factors—legitimacy, a favourable legal framework and agency given to these principles by the domestic actors. Especially, administrative courts seem to be progressively facilitating their application. Yet, while in certain domains the said principles have permeated the Lithuanian legal system to a remarkable extent, in others their use seems to be somewhat underutilized, be it because of domestic regulatory sufficiency, EU influence or unwillingness to make use of these principles by adopting ‘softer’ legal instruments such as codes of conduct or administrative self-commitments.

The Impact of the Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration on Swiss Law

This chapter is dedicated to exploring the impact on Swiss administrative law of the pan-European general principles of good administration developed within the framework of the Council of Europe (CoE). The chapter claims that the standards stemming from the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights have been adopted in an exemplary way by Swiss authorities. The influence was especially strong in the 1980s and 1990s. The same cannot be said regarding other documents of the CoE, whose impact remains disparate because many aspects of the pan-European general principles of good administration were already part of the national written law. The chapter concludes that despite the exemplary integration of CoE instruments heated debates on the content of these instruments are not excluded from Switzerland.

The Impact of the Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration on German Law

This chapter discusses the impact on German administrative law of the pan-European general principles of good administration developed within the framework of the Council of Europe (CoE). The chapter highlights that most of the German core statutes on administrative law had already been enacted or were developed before the adoption of the said principles. Moreover, the low availability and the lack of translation of the ‘CoE sources’ as well as the (over)reliance of German courts on the national constitution in developing standards of individual protection present further hindrances for their full permeation. However—at least conceptually—German law lives up to the said principles and often even exceeds them. The chapter concludes that it seems to be only a matter of time and the right opportunity for such impact to become full-blown in the German legal system.

The Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration in the Italian Legal System

This chapter discusses the impact of the pan-European principles of good administration on Italian administrative law. The chapter presents the main finding that the Italian legal system is generally in line with these principles. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights has played a particularly strong role in national administrative law (especially in the context of administrative sanctioning and lengthy court proceedings). At the same time, some limitations to full reception of the said principles remain, the most notable of them being the resistance of constitutional jurisprudence to give ‘generalized’ execution to the pan-European principles and the low degree of recognition of the importance of the Council of Europe’s recommendations and conventions (other than the ECHR) for the development of these principles in national administrative law. The chapter concludes by stressing the (sometimes) contradictory nature of Italy’s acknowledgement of the pan-European scope of these principles.

Implementation of the Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration in Bulgaria? It Would Be a Really Good Idea

This chapter canvasses the impact on the administrative law of Bulgaria of the pan-European principles of good administration developed by the Council of Europe (CoE) in the aftermath of socialism and in the shadow of EU integration. It zeroes in on each of the three channels of CoE influence—the direct effects of the CoE conventions ratified by Bulgaria, the indirect introduction of pan-European principles by the national legislator, and through application of the European Convention on Human Rights. It finds that the influence of all these channels has been limited although some progress has been made. Finally, it places the quest for pan-European principles and good administration in the context of Bulgarian legal culture and argues that the formalist character of the latter is a serious impediment to the actual effect that any legal principles (as opposed to rules) may have in the country.

The Austrian Perception of the Council of Europe

This chapter explores the impact on Austrian administrative law of the pan-European general principles of good administration developed within the framework of the Council of Europe (CoE). It reveals that the standards of individual protection stemming from the European Convention on Human Rights have greatly influenced the system of administrative justice in Austria. The impact of other CoE sources, especially various recommendations on administrative law, remains rather limited due to their high tension with the (constitutional) principle of legality. The chapter concludes that a widening gap in the relationship between the CoE and Austria can be discerned, partially because of the changing priorities of the latter and the ever-growing influence of the European Union.

Mapping, Explaining, and Constructing the Effectiveness of the Pan-European Principles of Good Administration

This chapter is dedicated to transversal analysis of the effectiveness of the pan-European general principles of good administration developed within the framework of the Council of Europe (CoE). First, it gives an overview of the differences and particularities of the national administrative law that come forth when looking at the effectiveness of these principles on the national level. It explains why they have different effects and work in different ways in different legal orders. Second, these different modes of operation of the principles are explained: to be effective on the national level they must be transposed, implemented and enforced. Thirdly, the chapter looks at the normative function of these principles on the level of the CoE. They concretize the ‘founding values’ of the CoE (Article 3 of its Statute) with regard to the administration of its Member States. The chapter finishes with an outlook on further desiderata of research.