Concept of Administrative law

Administrative law belongs to the field of public law1 which includes constitutional law, criminal law,
and international law.

Scope of Administrative law

Broadly conceived, administrative law covers the following: (1) the law which fixes the administrative
organization and structure of the government; (2) the law, the execution or enforcement of which is
entrusted to administrative authorities; (3) the law which governs public officers including their
competence (to act), rights, duties, liabilities, election, etc.; (4) the law which creates administrative
agencies, defines their powers and functions, prescribes their procedures, including the adjudication or
settlement by them of contested matters involving private interests; (5) the law which provides the
remedies, administrative or judicial, available to those aggrieved by administrative actions or decisions;
(6) the law which governs judicial review of, or relief against, administrative actions or decisions; (7) the
rules, regulations, orders and decisions (including presidential proclamations) made by administrative
authorities dealing with the interpretation and enforcement of the laws entrusted to their
administration; and (8) the body of judicial decisions and doctrines dealing with any of the above.

Concern of Administrative law

(1) Private rights. —The chief concern of administrative law is the protection of private rights, and its
subject matter is, therefore, the nature and the mode of exercise of administrative power and the
system of relief against administrative action.'3 (2) Delegated powers and combined powers. —
Generally speaking, administrative law is concerned with officers and agencies exercising delegated
powers and not with the exercise of the constitutional powers of the President. It is concerned with and
results from a fusion of different types of governmental powers in certain public officers which are part
of the executive branch of the government including a coercive power over individuals, since the
exercise of this type of power by this type of officer runs afoul of the fundamental and traditional
principle of separation of powers.'4

Scope of Administrative process

Criticisms against administrative action

The recognized weaknesses of administrative agencies considered typical have been summed up as
follows: (1) Tendency towards arbitrariness; (2) Lack of legal knowledge and aptitude in sound judicial
technique; (3) Susceptibility to political bias or pressure, often brought about by uncertainty of tenure;
(4) A disregard for the safeguards that insure a full and fair hearing; (5) Absence of standard rules of
procedure suitable to the activities of each agency; and (6) A dangerous combination of legislative,
executive, and judicial functions.3
Relation between administrative agencies and courts

(1) Collaborative instrumentalities. — Despite the differences between the administrative and judicial
processes, they are to be deemed collaborative instrumentalities of justice. Collaboration

Administrative agency or body and court distinguished.

Status or character of particular administrative agencies.

Main characteristics of administrative agencies.

Consequence of characteristics.

Delegation of function and authority.