In 1994, Susan Rose-Ackerman asked the following provocative question: American administrative law under siege: Is Germany a model? (107 Harv. L. Rev. 1279 (1994), also available here). She noted: “The American regulatory state is under attack.
Posts in "France" category
One of the interesting questions of administrative reform is setting up mechanisms to enable the direct involvement of the public in the administrative policymaking process. The U.S. Administrative Procedure Act (A.P.A.), adopted in 1946, provided early on such a model especially with respect to informal rulemaking. Section 553 of the A.P.A. stipulates that, when making rules or regulations having binding effect on private parties, the agency must provide notice of its proposal, an opportunity for affected parties to comment, and “a concise general statement” of the basis and purpose of the rules. U.S. scholars have advocated the adoption of equivalent participatory processes in other legal orders; similarly, domestic reformers have looked to the A.P.A. for inspiration when drafting the codes of administrative procedure in their respective jurisdictions.
It is well-established law in France since at least 1932 that a public authority cannot delegate to private bodies core public functions, such as security for example. The Constitutional Council recently reiterated such a prohibition against Parliament that wanted to pass a bill on videotaping. The bill authorized local government to delegate this function to private entities.