Legislative Sovereignty and Administrative Responsibility

Extract

[...] This primacy is fundamental because it guarantees that the decisions that affect the community emanate from the collective will and not from a unilateral authority. The administrative responsibility for the laws is inscribed in the extension of this primacy. It ensures that the administration, as the executor of the law, remains within the limits of what the legislator has determined. When the application of a law causes a prejudice, the administrative responsibility allows for restoring the balance by offering a form of control a posteriori on the legislative act. This is a manifestation of the principle of legality that regulates administrative action. [...]

[...] Over time, administrative liability for fault has expanded to include liability without fault. The decision of the Anonymous Dairy Products CompanyLa Fleurette in 1938 is a key step, where the Council of State recognizes for the first time the engagement of the State's liability under the law. Since then, the State's liability under the law has continued to evolve, particularly with the recognition of liability for laws declared contrary to the Constitution or France's international commitments. Moreover, administrative liability refers to the obligation of the administration to compensate for damages caused by its activity or that of its agents. [...]

[...] In this sense, administrative responsibility constitutes a corollary of legislative sovereignty. B. The articulation of administrative responsibility with the sovereignty of the law Firstly, it is necessary to clarify that liability for fault constitutes an extension of legislative sovereignty, while liability without fault can be perceived as the affirmation of the protection of citizens. The liability of the administration for fault directly derives from the sovereignty of the law. When the administration commits a fault in the execution of the law, it deviates from the legislative will and can therefore be held responsible. [...]

[...] To answer this question, it is necessary to consider, on the one hand, legislative sovereignty as the pillar of administrative liability under the law and on the other hand, the protection of fundamental rights as a necessary limit to legislative sovereigntyII). I. The legislative sovereignty: pillar of the responsibility of the laws The legislative sovereignty as a pillar of administrative responsibility allows to highlight the primacy of the law in the French legal orderA), and the articulation of administrative responsibility with the sovereignty of the lawB). A. [...]

[...] Administrative responsibility under the law embodies this duality, positioning itself at the interface between the state's normative power and individual rights. Historically, administrative responsibility was a foreign concept to French public law. Under the Ancien Régime, the king and, by extension, the state, were considered infallible and therefore irresponsible. The major turning point occurs with the Blanco decision of the Conflict of Laws Tribunal in 1873, which establishes state liability for damages caused by its public services. This founding decision marks the birth of administrative responsibility in French law and opens the way for a series of jurisprudential developments. [...]