Administrative Procedure Acts in Europe: An Emerging “Common Core”?

Abstract This Article concerns the legislative regulation of administrative procedure in Europe. Two main themes are discussed. The first is the spread of administrative procedure legislation. The vast majority of the member states of the European Union, though not all, have adopted some type of code of administrative procedure. Arguably, this constitutes a significant change in the pattern of modern administrative law. The second theme concerns commonality and diversity in European laws. Both common and distinctive features are considered from a twofold point of view: functional and structural. Functionally, attention is devoted to the rationales for such a legislative instrument, including procedural fairness and administrative efficiency. The structural features of administrative procedure acts (APAs) include, first, their size and scope and the nature of their provisions; second, their legal status, in particular whether some of them can be regarded as “super-statutes”; third, their provisions concerning the rights and duties of the individual. Interestingly, despite numerous differences between national APAs, deriving from both context and policy choices, there are certain basic requirements, such as the right to be heard and the duty to give reasons, which seem to prevail everywhere. The Article suggests that such common features depend on a mix of factors, including functional needs, prestige, and the influence of supranational legal orders.