Public Administration and Law

The relationship between law and public administration plays a central role in the development of countries and of society as a whole. Issues of coherence and harmonization often arise in a world where integration is a driving force of international politics, while segmentation of the justice system and of administrative regulations still plays a predominant role. This book looks at some aspects of the relationship between public administration and law. It also considers the citizen-public administration linkages and issues deriving from the presence of multiple authorities. Through several specific cases, the book aims at giving the reader the tools for comprehending some of the legal matters related to public administration and the framework within which development of systematic solutions can take place. Since, in recent years, the European Union and its member States have experimented a variety of legal dynamics related to public administration that are applicable to several regions of the world, the book exploration is particularly dedicated to that area, although it is not limited to it.

Administrative scientists in recent years shown a tendency to make of administrative study a science standing on its own laws as the case is in natural sciences. This exaggerated viewpoint will tend to misinterpret administration as a subject which may well be studied as an autonomous discipline strictly isolated from its very environment. Law is, in fact, one of the important element s of the environment in which administration and administrative activities take place. It would be unrealistic to attempt teaching administration as an area of interest ?solated from environmental factors and particularly from its legal aspects. It would also be a contradictory approach to conceive administration just ?n terms of law and overlook its other aspects. The law does not only shape the behavior of the administration and its agents; it also provides security to the public and substantive efficacy to administrative activities. Nowadays the relationship between administration and law presents a complex picture.