| Abstract: | Administrative law is traditionally said to be concerned with the 'control of government', and judicial review of administrative action is said to be the primary mechanism of 'control'. It is argued that judicial review fails in any significant sense to control central government. Explanations for this include the ability of the executive, acting through the legislature it controls, to reverse or nullify judicial decisions: the characteristics of the civil service which, in the absence of any significant legal training as a condition of employment, tend not to be aware of the significance of administrative law principles; and the imprecision of those principles, which make them inadequate as a guide to determine administrative processes. If administrative lawyers do in fact seek to establish control over central government, some at least of those problems must be faced, perhaps by the creation of a body of principles of administration. |
