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Constitutional value of administrative law: -
Thus the growth of administrative law is to be attributed to a change of philosophy as to the role and function of state. The shifting of gears from laissez faire state to social welfare state has resulted in change of role of the state. This trend may be illustrated very forcefully by reference to the position in India. Before 1947, India was a police state. The ruling foreign power was primarily interested in strengthening its own domination; the administrative machinery was used mainly with the object in view and the civil service came to be designated as the “steel frame”. The state did not concern itself much with the welfare of the people. But all this changed with the advent of independence with the philosophy in the Indian constitution the preamble to the constitution enunciates the great objectives and the socioeconomic goals for the achievement of which the Indian constitution has been conceived and drafted in the mid-20th century an era when the concept of social welfare state was predominant. It is thus pervaded with the modern outlook regarding the objectives and functions of the state. It embodies a distinct philosophy which regards the state as on organ to secure good and welfare of the people this concept of state is further strengthened by the Directive Principles of state policy which set out the economic, social and political goals of Indian constitutional system. These directives confer certain non-justiceable rights on the people, and place the government under an obligation to achieve and maximize social welfare and basic social values of life education, employment, health etc. In consonance with the modern beliefs of man, the Indian constitution sets up machinery to achieve the goal of economic democracy along with political democracy, for the latter would be meaningless without former.
Therefore, the attainment of socio-economic justice being a conscious goal of state policy, there is a vast and inevitable increase in the frequency with which ordinary citizens come into relationship of direct encounter with state power-holder. The Administrative law is an important weapon for bringing about harmony between power and justice. The basic law of the land i.e. the constitution governs the administrators.
Provisions of COI for administrative law: -
Administrative law essentially deals with location of power and the limitations thereupon. Since both of these aspects are governed by the constitution, we shall survey the provisions of the constitution, which act as sources of limitations upon the power of the state. This brief outline of the Indian constitution will serve the purpose of providing a proper perspective for the study of administrative law.
India’s Constitution is a very lengthy, elaborate and detailed document. It consists of 470 articles in 25 parts, 12 schedules and 5 appendices. It is probably the longest of the organic law now extant in the world. Several reasons have contributed to the prolixity of the Indian Constitution.
Firstly, the Constitution deals with the organization and structure not only of the central Government but also of the states.
Secondly, in a federal constitution, Center-State relationship is a matter of crucial importance. While other federal constitutions have only skeletal provisions on this matter the Indian Constitution has detailed norms.
Thirdly, the Constitution has reduced to writing many unwritten conventions of the British Constitution as for example, the principle of collective responsibility of the Ministers, parliamentary procedure etc.
Fourthly, there exist various communities and groups in India. To remove mutual distrust among them, it was felt necessary to include in the Constitution detailed provisions on Fundamental Rights, safeguards to minorities, Scheduled tribes scheduled castes and backward classes.
Fifthly, to promote the social welfare concept, on which the state of India is to be based, the constitution includes Directive Principles of State Policy.
Lastly, the Constitution contains not only the fundamental principles of governance but also many administrative details, such as the provisions regarding citizenship, official languages, government services, electoral machinery etc.
In other constitutions, these are usually left to be regulated by the ordinary law of the land. The framers of the Indian Constitution however felt that unless these provisions were contained in the Constitution, an infant democracy might find itself in difficulties, and the smooth and efficient working of the Constitution and the democratic process in the country might be jeopardized. The form of administration has a close relation with the form of the Constitution and the former must be appropriate to the latter. It is quite possible to pervert the constitutional mechanism, without changing its form, by merely changing the form of the administration and making it inconsistent with, and opposed to, the spirit of the constitution. Since India was emerging as an independent country after a long spell of foreign rule, the country lacked democratic values. The constitution-makers therefore thought it prudent not to take unnecessary risks, and to incorporate in the constitution itself in the form of administration as well, instead of leaving it to the legislature, so that the whole mechanism may become viable.
Today in India, the Administrative process has grown so much that it will not be out of place to say that today we are not governed but administered. It may be pointed out that the constitutional law deals with fundamentals while administrative with details. The learned author, Sh. I.P. Messey, has rightly pointed out, whatever may be the arguments and counter arguments, the fact remains that the administrative law is recognized as separate, independent branch of legal discipline,. Though at times the disciplines of constitutional law and administrative law may over lap. Further clarifying the point he said the correct position seems to be that if one draws two circles of administrative law and constitutional law at a certain place they may over lap and this area may termed as watershed in administrative law.
In India, in the Watershed one can include the whole control mechanism provided in the constitution for the control of the administrative authorities that is article 32, 226,136,300 and 311.
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References: -
Training package on administrative law
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