Complete and detailed Administrative Law notes. Includes detailed class notes, relevant textbook summaries, in depth case summaries and lecturer's test/exam tips and examples. Notes are set out in an organised, structured manner making it easy to understand.
Contents
1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................3
Constitution: S33...............................................................................................................................3
Sources of Administrative Law...........................................................................................................4
PAJA...................................................................................................................................................6
Cases................................................................................................................................................12
2 Lawfulness........................................................................................................................................35
Terminology.....................................................................................................................................35
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................36
Rules around Lawfulness.................................................................................................................38
Who?...............................................................................................................................................39
How?................................................................................................................................................43
What?..............................................................................................................................................46
Error.................................................................................................................................................48
Cases................................................................................................................................................51
3 Procedural Fairness...........................................................................................................................74
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................74
Common Law...................................................................................................................................75
Legitimate Expectations...................................................................................................................77
PAJA.................................................................................................................................................81
Failure to follow a fair procedure....................................................................................................92
Legality and Fairness........................................................................................................................92
Rule against Bias..............................................................................................................................93
Cases................................................................................................................................................95
4 Reasons...........................................................................................................................................117
Introduction...................................................................................................................................117
Right to Reasons............................................................................................................................117
PAJA – in addition to s5.................................................................................................................119
PAJA s5...........................................................................................................................................120
Failure to give Reasons..................................................................................................................127
What is the Remedy when the Reasons provided are Inadequate?..............................................128
PAJA s5 Summary..........................................................................................................................128
Cases..............................................................................................................................................130
5 Reasonableness..............................................................................................................................136
Review and Appeal........................................................................................................................136
Reasonableness under the Common Law......................................................................................138
Reasonableness under the Constitution........................................................................................141
1
, Reasonableness under PAJA..........................................................................................................145
Cases..............................................................................................................................................155
6 Regulation.......................................................................................................................................171
Introduction...................................................................................................................................171
Types of Regulation.......................................................................................................................171
Cases..............................................................................................................................................194
2
,1 INTRODUCTION
Textbook definition of admin law: that part of constitutional law which both empowers those
exercising public authority or performing public functions through the law, and which holds
accountable to rules of law all those who exercise public power or perform public functions
Constitution: S33
- S33 says everyone has the right to just administrative action
- We need to keep two perspectives in mind:
o Proactive perspective on administrative law
Two sides of the same coin
Meant to be more dominant in our legal system but we are struggling to
make this shift
In SA we have very specific developmental challenges
In our Constitution you see that our state is given the primary
responsibility to achieve those prospective goals
o Eg chapter 10 of Constitution
Primary goal of state administration is to achieve the Constitution’s goal
The goal is a developmental one
Administrative law must help facilitate this by giving the state the
tools to do their job
As important as reactive perspective
o Lecturer argues proactive perspective is more important
because we need to improve our administrative action in SA
Eg improve Department of Home Affairs
o Reactive perspective on administrative law
Dominant in our legal tradition
We restrict the state
Curb their power
We do so by creating mechanisms in law that allows you to
challenge in law the actions of state admin
We react to action already taken
The aim of the reaction is to limit or to protect the person who is
feeling the administrative action
- When dealing with admin law we need to think which perspective we are dealing with
(reactive or proactive)
o Eg if you represent a refugee you will try to get Home Affairs to take a decision on
the refugee’s citizen status, but at the same time you need to consider how what
you are currently doing is going to get Home Affairs to up their game because this is
your ultimate goal
3
, Sources of Administrative Law
- When talking about sources of admin law we need to distinguish between two different
things
o The source of admin power and the source of admin law
Both are laws, but they play very different roles in administrative analyses
o The sources of admin power are those sources in law, mostly statute, that grants an
administrator power to do something
Usually a state official
Eg person, institution, department
Eg Companies Act
The state can only do that which the law allows it to do
The state does not have plenary power such as natural persons
o We can do anything unless the law says we cannot
Thus, the state needs to point to the source of their power
o The basis of admin law
o In this module we study the sources of admin law (not power)
Those are the rules that tells us how these administrators should act
The body of legal rules that regulate incidences of public power or the
exercise of public functions
o Administrative law involves a combination of the source of admin power and the
source of admin law
Thus, you always have a double layer of law
o Eg a kid in public school has been suspended from school
You will take the School’s Act (source of admin power) and take Admin Law
and combine the two
o Eg the Local Government: Municipal Services Act
Act authorises municipalities to impose and collect fees
It is administrative power
But administrative law remains relevant
Whenever a municipality exercises its power to impose fees and
collect them, corresponding decisions would have to be lawful,
reasonable and procedurally fair if they qualify as administrative
actions
- Sources of Admin Law
o Constitution
Most important source of admin law
The Interim Constitution in s24 introduced the right to administrative justice
1996 Constitution: s33
(1) Everyone has the right to administrative action that is lawful,
reasonable and procedurally fair.
(2) Everyone whose rights have been adversely affected by
administrative action has the right to be given written reasons.
(3) National legislation must be enacted to give effect to these
rights, and must—
o (a) provide for the review of administrative action by a
court or, where appropriate, an independent and impartial
tribunal;
o (b) impose a duty on the state to give effect to the rights in
subsections (1) and (2); and
o (c) promote an efficient administration.
4
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