On 13th July 2021, the Review of European Administrative Law organised an online discussion on the edited collection Cases, materials and texts on judicial review of administrative action (Hart 2019). Professor Rob Widdershoven (Utrecht) introduced the journal and the objective of the event. Dr Michał Krajewski (iCourts, Copenhagen) introduced the book and chaired the stimulating exchanges between Professor Giulio Napolitano (University of Roma Tre) and Professor Mariolina Eliantonio (University of Maastricht), one of the co-editors of the Case Book. Nearly 50 colleagues from across Europe registered to follow the discussions.
The participants to the discussion stressed that the Case Book is extremely valuable in that it brings a distinctive comparison to the field of comparative administrative law for an extensive variety of materials (classic readings, legal provisions, case law, comments, and comparative analysis), thus making available in English key original texts of the main administrative traditions in Europe.
The lively and friendly exchanges revolved, among others, around the following topics:
- Methodological issues pertaining to the extent of the comparison and the suitability of limiting the comparison to the chosen European administrative traditions, and the respective advantages of micro and macro comparisons in this field;
- The features of a possible second edition of the Case Book;
- The constitutional constraints on the design and functioning of judicial review;
- The organisation of judicial review, the need to reconsider the classic dichotomy between specialised and ordinary courts and the combination of judicial and advisory functions within some administrative courts;
- The access to courts, and the role of courts either as protection of the public interest or individual rights;
- The remedies before the competent courts and their effectiveness;
- The intensity of review and the role of expertise in judicial review;
- Non-judicial redress mechanisms;
- The development of similar research within countries from former Eastern Europe.
The recording of this discussion is available here:
Any academic comment or reaction discussing the main topics raised during this online book discussion is welcomed in the form of a blog post. Please direct your submission to the blog editor, Dr Yseult Marique (ymarique [@] essex.ac.uk).
