Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE PBL2015

 
TITLE Administrative Law

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 8

 
DEPARTMENT Public Law

 
DESCRIPTION The study-unit covers the area of the General Principles of Administrative Law, The Agencies of Government and their function and Administrative Law under a comparative and E.U. Law perspective. The study-unit looks at the nature of Administrative Law and its relations to Constitutional Law; as well as the different types of Administrative Law systems operative in democratic constitutions. Problems of redress of grievances and functions of the executive from the point of view of their control and limitations are focal points in this study-unit as well as judicial review which are gone into in depth.

The study-unit also comprises a study of the institutions of Government, the organisation of the civil service, public corporations and local authorities and examines the functions, duties and legal responsibilities of these institutions in a modern democratic society. The main topics covered include the Constitutional foundations of the administration of the State, the purpose of administrative action, public duties, the workings of the Executive, access to public employment, conditions of service and discipline of public officers, the Public Service Commission, access to information held by public authorities, the freedom of expression of public officers, conflict of interest in the public service, public finance, Local Councils, public corporations and government owned companies, the Ombudsman, and the accountability of the public sector.

Administrative Law is also looked at from a comparative perspective and the student will be asked to familiarise himself with other Administrative Law systems operative in democratic Constitution especially within the E.U. framework. The impact of E.U. Law on Administrative Law is also dealt.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this study-unit, students should:

- Know which are the General Principles of Administrative Law;
- Be able to compare and contrast Maltese Administrative Law with British, French and E.U. Administrative Law;
- Understand better the workings of the public administration;
- Learn in more detail the workings of the Executive organ of the State and how the Executive is accountable in its duties to the Legislature and to the Judiciary;
- Familiarise oneself with the leading judgments in the realm of Administrative Law;
- Delve deeper into judicial review of administrative action and governmental liability.

Selected Bibliography:

- Hilaire Barnett “Constitutional and Administrative” 4th Edition.
- J. Beatson and Tridimas “European Public Law” Hart Publishing.
- Tonio Borg “Judicial Review of Administrative Action in Malta” Kite Publishers.
- Tonio Borg “Leading Cases in Maltese Administrative Law” Kite Publishers.
- Claire De Than and Edwin Shorts “Public Law and Human Rights” Sweet and Maxwell.
- J. F. Garner “Administrative Law” Butterworth.
- Ian Loveland “Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights: A Critical Introduction” Oxford University Press.
- Ivan Mifsud "Judicial Review of Administrative Action in Malta. An Examination of Article 469A COCP and of Judicial Review in General" BDL Publishers.
- Ivan Mifsud “The Ombudsman Remedy in Malta; Too Soft a Take on the Public Administration?” BDL Publishers.
- Lucio Pegoraro and Angelo Rinella “Introduzione al Diritto Publico Comparato” CEDAM, 2002.
- Jurgen Schwarze “European Administrative Law” Luxembourg: Office for Official Publication of the European Communities, 1992.
- John Stanton & Craig Prescott “Public Law” Oxford University Press, 2018 2020.
- William Wade and Christopher Forsyth “Administrative Law” Oxford University Press.
- Woolf De Smith and Jowell “Judicial Review of Administrative Action” Sweet and Maxwell.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Seminar

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
True/False Questions Examination (1 Hour) SEM1 Yes 10%
Examination (3 Hours) SEM2 Yes 90%

 
LECTURER/S Tonio Borg
Peter Grech
Robert Musumeci

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit