Administrative Law

Public Law

A classification of law that concerns the relationship between individuals and their government. Constitutional law and criminal law are examples of public law

Sunset Provision/Sunset Law

A law that requires an administrative agency to end, or which terminates the agency's authority under its enabling statute is called a Sunset Law. When a specific provision requiring the agency to terminate its operations after a set period of time is included in an enabling statute, the provision is called a Sunset Provision.

Procedural Administrative Rule

A procedural administrative rule identifies the process an administrative agency follows when applying the law that Congress, through an enabling statute, has charged the agency to apply and enforce.

Administrative Law Judge

An administrative law judge (ALJ) is a government employee who oversees administrative agency adjudications (cases). The ALJ acts like a trial court judge in a civil lawsuit, administering oaths of witnesses, taking evidence, rules on objections to witness testimony and exhibits, and makes findings of fact and conclusions of law in issuing a decision.

Criminal Law

Criminal law is a type of public law in which actions considered by society to be "wrong" and which are offensive to society (e.g., theft, murder, fraud, etc.) are punished.

Executive Administrative Agencies

Executive administrative agencies are generally created by the executive branch of government (the president and executive-level offices). Officials who lead and manage executive agencies can generally be removed from their positions by the president without cause.

Formal Rule-Making

Formal rule-making takes place under the Administrative Procedures Act after a process called "on the record" rule-making occurs.

Independent Administrative Agencies

Independent administrative agencies are created by Congress to apply the laws that Congress makes. The officials leading independent administrative agencies can only be removed from their positions for good reasons ("cause").

Interpretive Administrative Rule

Interpretive administrative rules are rules administrative agencies make in which the agency provides the public with its interpretation of what Congress meant when it passed the laws the agency is charged with enforcing. Interpretive administrative rules do not carry the same force and effect of substantive/legislative administrative rules, meaning they are not legally binding on the businesses covered by that law

Legislative/Substantive Administrative Rule

Legislative (or Substantive) administrative rules are administrative rules made by federal administrative agencies under the formal rule-making requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act. Legislative/substantive rules have the same force and effect as statutes made by Congress.

Enabling Statute

The federal law that creates administrative agencies is called an enabling statute. The enabling statute outlines the administrative agency's name, its management structure and its powers.

Delegation Doctrine

The legal rule, based on Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, courts follow in allowing Congress to assign some of its authority to make laws to federal administrative agencies.

Informal Rule-Making

Under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), informal rule-making takes place after a "notice and comment" process occurs.

Remand

When an appellate court sends a case back to a trial court to reconsider its decision to retry the case, the process of returning the case to the lower court is called remand. Likewise, the commission or board of an administrative agency returns a case to an Administrative Law Judge for reconsideration the process is also called remand