Administrative Appeal as an Out-Of-Court Procedure for the Protection of the Rights of Individuals and Legal Entities

Abstract

In administrative law, there are two major ways of contesting allegedly unlawful decisions/acts: the administrative appeal and the judicial review (court action). While the administrative appeal is an attempt to solve the dispute at administrative level, the judicial review is an adversarial proceeding by which an individual transfers the conflict with a public authority to the (administrative) courts. In principle, the administrative appeal and the judicial review are independent, and the rules for their exercise normally do not interfere with one another. One of the forms of legal protection of a person in relations with public administration authorities is the institution of administrative appeal, the purpose of which is to fully and timely prevent and eliminate any violations of law and discipline in the activities of public authority. It ensures the active and proactive participation of citizens in the protection of their rights in administrative manner. The right to administrative appeal of decisions, actions or inactivity of authority directly to them or to administrative bodies, which are higher in the system of hierarchical subordination, is an important and necessary mechanism for pre-trial settlement of a dispute between a citizen and the relevant authority. The resolution of such disputes within the framework of administrative appeal provides an opportunity for business entities, individual citizens to protect their interests, identify shortcomings in the work of public authorities and promptly eliminate them, save time and effort, bypassing the judicial form of protection.