How to Assess the Effectiveness of the Pan-European General Principles of Good Administration

Abstract

This chapter discusses the approach used in this book to assess the effectiveness of the pan-European general principles of good administration in harmonizing the domestic administrative law of the Member States of the Council of Europe with regard to the ‘limiting function’ of administrative law. It explains the criteria justifying the choice of the twenty-eight Member States included in the research and the exclusion of the others. It gives reasons why the research is not extended to the impact of these principles on the (supranational) legal order of the European Union. Finally, it explains the methods used by the national experts to assess the impact and effectiveness of the pan-European general principles of good administration in their respective legal orders, i.e. the so-called paths of reception, namely through national legislation, through administrative self-commitments, and through national case law referring to and directly applying these principles as standards of review.