Relationship Between Constitutional Law and Admin
C Dr. VIPIN KUMAR SINGH
Assistant Professor
Subject- Legislative and Quasi Judicial Powers of Administration
Class- LL.M. II Semester
Topic- Relationship Between Constitutional Law and Administrative Law
aw and
Relationship Between Constitutional Law
and Administrative Law
Constitutional and administrative law both govern the affairs of the state. Administrative
law, an area of law that gained early sophistication in France, was until well into this
century largely unrecognized in the United Kingdom as well as the United States. To the
early English writers on administrative law, there was virtually no difference between
administrative law and constitutional law. This is evident from the words of Keith: “It is
logically impossible to distinguish administrative from constitutional law and all attempts
to do so are artificial.” Some jurists like Felix Frankfurter even went as far as to call it
“illegitimate and exotic”.
The root of all confusion in the United Kingdom is its lack of a written constitution. In a
state with a written constitution, the source of constitutional law is the Constitution while
the sources of administrative law include statutes, statutory instruments, precedents
and customs whereas in the United Kingdom, this distinction is not very clear cut – it is
in fact, quite blurred.
Due to this lack of clarity, it will be vital to observe the views of jurists and scholars on
the difference between administrative law and constitutional law. According to Holland,
constitutional law describes the various organs of the government at rest, while
administrative law describes them in motion. Holland contends that the structure of the
executive and the legislature comes within he purview of constitutional law whereas
their functioning is governed by administrative law.
, Jennings puts forward another view, which says that administrative law deals with the
organization, functions, powers and duties of administrative authorities while
constitutional law deals with the general principles relating to the organization and
powers of the various organs of the State and their mutual relationships and relationship
of these organs with the individual. Simply put, constitutional law lays down the
fundamentals of the workings of government organs while administrative law deals with
the details.
The fundamental constitutional principle, inspired by John Locke, holds that “the
individual can do anything but that which is forbidden by law, and the state may do
nothing but that which is authorised by law”. Administrative law is the chief method for
people to hold state bodies to account. People can apply for judicial review of actions or
decisions by local councils, public services or government ministries, to ensure that they
comply with the law. The first specialist administrative court was the Conseil d’État set
up in 1799, as Napoleon assumed power in France.
Whatever be the correct position, there always exists an area of overlap between
constitutional law and administrative law. In India, this corresponds to the whole
constitutional mechanism for the control of administrative authorities – Articles 32, 136,
226, 227, 300 and 311. It can also include the study of administrative agencies
provided for in the Constitution itself. Further, it may include the study of constitutional
limitations on delegation of powers to the administrative authorities and also those
provisions of the Constitution which restrict administrative action; for example, the
Fundamental Rights.
The objective and scope of this project will be to draw the relationship between
administrative law and constitutional law with respect to India and the Indian
Constitution. The researcher will attempt to articulate the doctrinal and contextual links
that exist between administrative law and constitutional law. The researcher will make
use of appropriate case laws, wherever necessary.
Constitutional Law viewed through Administrative Eyes
Since the English Constitution is unwritten, the impact of constitutional law upon
administrative law in England is insignificant and blurred. As Dicey observes, the rules
which in other countries form part of a constitutional code are the result of the ordinary
law of the land in England. As a result, whatever control the administrative authorities
can be subjected to, if any, must be deduced from the ordinary law, as contained in
statutes and judicial decisions. But, in countries having written constitutions, there is an
additional source of control over administrative action. In these countries there are two
sources or modes of exercising judicial control over the administrative agencies –
constitutional and non-constitutional. The written constitution imposes limitations upon
all organs of the body politic. Therefore, while all authors attempt to distinguish the
scope of administrative law from that of constitutional law, they cannot afford to forget
not to mention that in a country having written constitution with judicial review, it is not
possible to dissociate the two completely.
C Dr. VIPIN KUMAR SINGH
Assistant Professor
Subject- Legislative and Quasi Judicial Powers of Administration
Class- LL.M. II Semester
Topic- Relationship Between Constitutional Law and Administrative Law
aw and
Relationship Between Constitutional Law
and Administrative Law
Constitutional and administrative law both govern the affairs of the state. Administrative
law, an area of law that gained early sophistication in France, was until well into this
century largely unrecognized in the United Kingdom as well as the United States. To the
early English writers on administrative law, there was virtually no difference between
administrative law and constitutional law. This is evident from the words of Keith: “It is
logically impossible to distinguish administrative from constitutional law and all attempts
to do so are artificial.” Some jurists like Felix Frankfurter even went as far as to call it
“illegitimate and exotic”.
The root of all confusion in the United Kingdom is its lack of a written constitution. In a
state with a written constitution, the source of constitutional law is the Constitution while
the sources of administrative law include statutes, statutory instruments, precedents
and customs whereas in the United Kingdom, this distinction is not very clear cut – it is
in fact, quite blurred.
Due to this lack of clarity, it will be vital to observe the views of jurists and scholars on
the difference between administrative law and constitutional law. According to Holland,
constitutional law describes the various organs of the government at rest, while
administrative law describes them in motion. Holland contends that the structure of the
executive and the legislature comes within he purview of constitutional law whereas
their functioning is governed by administrative law.
, Jennings puts forward another view, which says that administrative law deals with the
organization, functions, powers and duties of administrative authorities while
constitutional law deals with the general principles relating to the organization and
powers of the various organs of the State and their mutual relationships and relationship
of these organs with the individual. Simply put, constitutional law lays down the
fundamentals of the workings of government organs while administrative law deals with
the details.
The fundamental constitutional principle, inspired by John Locke, holds that “the
individual can do anything but that which is forbidden by law, and the state may do
nothing but that which is authorised by law”. Administrative law is the chief method for
people to hold state bodies to account. People can apply for judicial review of actions or
decisions by local councils, public services or government ministries, to ensure that they
comply with the law. The first specialist administrative court was the Conseil d’État set
up in 1799, as Napoleon assumed power in France.
Whatever be the correct position, there always exists an area of overlap between
constitutional law and administrative law. In India, this corresponds to the whole
constitutional mechanism for the control of administrative authorities – Articles 32, 136,
226, 227, 300 and 311. It can also include the study of administrative agencies
provided for in the Constitution itself. Further, it may include the study of constitutional
limitations on delegation of powers to the administrative authorities and also those
provisions of the Constitution which restrict administrative action; for example, the
Fundamental Rights.
The objective and scope of this project will be to draw the relationship between
administrative law and constitutional law with respect to India and the Indian
Constitution. The researcher will attempt to articulate the doctrinal and contextual links
that exist between administrative law and constitutional law. The researcher will make
use of appropriate case laws, wherever necessary.
Constitutional Law viewed through Administrative Eyes
Since the English Constitution is unwritten, the impact of constitutional law upon
administrative law in England is insignificant and blurred. As Dicey observes, the rules
which in other countries form part of a constitutional code are the result of the ordinary
law of the land in England. As a result, whatever control the administrative authorities
can be subjected to, if any, must be deduced from the ordinary law, as contained in
statutes and judicial decisions. But, in countries having written constitutions, there is an
additional source of control over administrative action. In these countries there are two
sources or modes of exercising judicial control over the administrative agencies –
constitutional and non-constitutional. The written constitution imposes limitations upon
all organs of the body politic. Therefore, while all authors attempt to distinguish the
scope of administrative law from that of constitutional law, they cannot afford to forget
not to mention that in a country having written constitution with judicial review, it is not
possible to dissociate the two completely.
