Administrative Law

Remedies Against Administrative Agencies When a government agency acts unlawfully, the legal system must provide a way for the affected person or organization to obtain relief. Administrative law therefore is not concerned only with identifying whether an agency has exceeded its authority. It also asks a practical question: What can Read more

Administrative Accountability, Transparency, and Government Oversight Introduction Administrative agencies exercise enormous governmental power. They write regulations, enforce federal statutes, investigate conduct, issue orders, distribute public benefits, impose penalties, and make decisions that can directly affect individuals, businesses, and entire industries. That power creates a fundamental problem: Who watches the agencies? Read more

Major Questions Doctrine Introduction The Major Questions Doctrine is a principle of U.S. administrative law that limits the ability of federal administrative agencies to claim broad regulatory authority over matters of extraordinary economic or political significance without clear authorization from Congress. In simple terms, the doctrine asks: Did Congress clearly Read more

Chevron Deference and Its Constitutional Significance Introduction For nearly forty years, Chevron deference was one of the most important doctrines in American administrative law. Under the doctrine established by Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. in 1984, federal courts generally deferred to a federal administrative agency’s reasonable Read more

Deference to Administrative Agencies Introduction Deference to administrative agencies refers to the degree of respect or weight that courts give to an agency’s decisions when reviewing them. For much of modern administrative-law history, deference was closely associated with the idea that agencies possess specialized expertise and that courts should sometimes Read more

Standards of Judicial Review Introduction When a court reviews an action taken by an administrative agency, it does not always ask the same question or apply the same level of scrutiny. The standard of judicial review determines how closely the court examines the agency’s decision and how much weight it Read more

Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Administrative law often requires a party to deal with an agency before turning to a court. When an agency makes a decision affecting an individual or organization, the law may provide an administrative process for challenging that decision. The affected party may have to file an Read more

Standing, Ripeness, and Mootness Judicial review allows courts to examine administrative action, but not every disagreement with an administrative agency can become a lawsuit. Before a court considers whether an agency acted unlawfully, it may first have to determine whether the plaintiff is legally entitled to bring the case, whether Read more

Judicial Review of Administrative Action Administrative agencies exercise significant governmental power. They make rules, investigate conduct, conduct hearings, enforce regulatory requirements, impose penalties, issue licenses, and make decisions affecting individuals and businesses. But administrative agencies are not above the law. One of the central safeguards of administrative law is judicial Read more