Summaries of Articles published in French and Spanish
| DOI | 10.1177/002085237303900209 |
| Published date | 01 June 1973 |
| Date | 01 June 1973 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
i
Summaries
of
Articles
published
in
French
and
Spanish
Administrative
Law
in
the
Changing
French
Administration
C.
DEBBASCH
The
French
Administrative
Law
system
has
long
enjoyed
a
world-wide
reputation
because
it
appears
to
be
an
instrument
for
subjecting
the
administration
to
the
law.
But
because
of
the
profound
changes
it
is
encountering
parallel
to
those
of
adminis-
trative
conditions,
it
is
now
undergoing
a
period
of
crisis.
The
signification
of
this
development
should
first
be
grasped
before
deciding
how
to
deal
with
the
situation.
The
changes
have
taken
place
at
different
levels :
The
objectives
of
administrative
law
Classical
administrative
law,
while
allowing
the
administration
important
prerogatives
derogatory
from
ordinary
law,
though
they
were,
in
theory,
exercised
solely
in
the
admin-
istration’s
allocated
field
of
sovereign
services,
stressed
the
defence
of
the
rights
of
the
indi-
vidual
in
so
far
as
those
rights
did
not
affect
the
general
interest.
Its
framework,
ideas,
as
well
as
conditions,
were
those
of
the
Liberal
State.
Now
that
the
circumstances
have
become
somewhat
different
owing
to
the
development
of
administrative
activity,
certain
admin-
istrators
look
upon
the
legal
rules
of
admin-
istrative
law
as
a
hindrance
to
effective
admin-
istrative
action.
This
certainly
does
not
imply
that
administrative
action
and
the
training
of
public
servants
does
not
continue
to
be
traditionally
steeped
in
administrative
law.
But
it
has
become
noticeable
that
many
public
servants
are
less
concerned
with
whether
they
act
in
accordance
with
the
law
than
with
finding
means
of
infringing
it
without
doing
so
too
openly.
This
seems
to
be
due
to
their
regarding
the
administrative
law
system
as
a
list
of
futile
prohibitions
rather
than
as
a
means
ensuring
the
best
management.
The
fact
is
that
the
present-day
efforts
of
the
administration
can
no
longer
be
carried
out
in
the
framework
of
legal
principles
laid
down,
for
the
most
part,
in
the
nineteenth
century.
The
objectives
of
the
administration
Classical
administrative
law
corresponds
to
a
type
of
administration
which
was
classical.
The
administration
was
then
considered
as
a
device
for
the
stabilization
of
social
relations.
It
is
conservative
in
that
it
is
better
suited
to
the
direction
than
the
transformation
of
existing
machinery.
But
now
that
the
admin-
istration
has
become
an
essential
partner
in
the
most
important
economic,
financial,
and
social
affairs,
it
is
hampered
by
old
rules
which
were
not
intended
for
the
new
type
of
administration.
The
rules
were
intended
to
restrain
administrative action
and
to
protect
the
citizen,
but
not
to
ensure
the
efficiency
so
essential
today.
In
addition,
ideas
about
the
role
of
the
administration
have
changed.
The
admin-
istration
has
therefore
reacted
in
various
ways
so
as
to
cope
with
the
situation.
The
development
of
independent
rule-making
powers
and
of
new
legislation
influenced
by
the
administration
may
be
observed.
Every
care
is
being
taken
to
leave
the
authorities
wide
discretionary
powers,
without
clearly
stating
the
rights
of
the
citizen.
Owing
to
its
instability
and
incompleteness,
the
new
legislation
has
rendered
proper
judicial
control
impossible,
since
the
exercise
of
such
a
control
has
already
been
made
more
complex
by
the
diversification
of
the
legal
forms
of
adminis-
trative
intervention.
The
development
of
the
legal forms
of
interven-
tion
The
classical
theory
of
administrative
law
is
based
on
a
clear
distinction
between
public
persons,
which
are
given
a
monopoly
of
administrative
action,
i.e.
of
tasks
that
are
governmental
(administratives)
by
nature,
and
private
persons.
This
raised
a
series
of
implications,
which
have
now
been
called
into
question
as
a
result
of
the
administration’s
intrusion
in
activities
also
undertaken
by
private
persons.
The
existence
was
therefore
acknowledged,
parallel
to
that
of
governmental
tasks,
of
other &dquo;
acquired &dquo;
tasks
in
connec-
tion
with
which
there
was
no
monopoly.
But,
at
the
same
time,
there
were
changes
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