PUBLIC LAW CONTRACT IN GERMAN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

Abstract

The article focuses on the public-law contract in German law. It considers the relationship between the public-law contract and the administrative act in the context of the principle of freedom of choice of form of action of the administrative authorities. It analyses the legal basis of the public law contract. First of all, these covers § 54 of the Administrative Procedure Act as the central norm of the public law contract. Issues relating to the limitations in the enforcement of § 54 are also outlined. In addition, the constitutional background of the public contract is discussed. Particular attention is paid to the principle of lawfulness of government action and its two main components: the rule of law and the principle of compliance with the law, which have a varying impact on the public-law contract. The article also considers the dual nature of public-law contracts, which is primarily due to the fact that the public-law contract itself is directly a figure of both procedural and substantive law. Distinctive features of a public-law contract in the context of its differentiation from the other forms of implementation by administrative authorities of their powers are analyzed. First of all, it affects the administrative act on demand as the closest to the public-law contract type of its external manifestations. The same applies to an administrative act with additional conditions, since it has misleading characteristics similar to a contractual relationship. The subject matter of the contract itself was analyzed as a decisive factor enabling it to be classed as a contract entered into in the field of public administrative law. The role of the theory of special law and its impact on the process of identifying the public law contract was examined. In this regard, the limping mutual contract as a special form of a public-law contract has been defused. A special place in the article is given to the issues of terminology. It is concluded that Ukrainian administrative law has no analogues and similar approach not only to the question of classification but also to the correlation of the considered notions developed by German administrative law.