KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, KUSL

Course Syllabus
Course Title
Course Code
Credit Hours
Course Objective

Learning Unit
Learning Unit
One Net contact
hours 5 hours.

Learning Unit
Two
Net contact hours
8 hours.

Learning Unit
Three
Net contact hours

Administrative Law
LADM 336
Three 3
The objective of this course is to train the students on many of the safeguards
which prevent government becoming an intolerable evil. It is the purpose of this
course to provide an introduction to administrative law and its control of
government power indicating, wherever desirable, the nature of those powers, the
purpose of governmental functions as well as the scope and effectiveness of legal
control. It covers the administrative agencies of government, the nature,
characteristics and sources of its powers, the judicial review of administrative
action and the remedies for unlawful and irregular administrative action.
1. Introductory:
1.1 The Scope and Purpose of Administrative Law (definition, the rule of law, the
constitutional background to administrative law, the relationship between
constitutional law and administrative law; is the parliament sovereign and
supreme? the separation of powers; conventions; prerogative powers;
administrative law in perspective)
1.2 The federal system and its three tiers of governments (the conduct of
government; legal Immunities of the crown; crown servants and agents, central
government functions)
1.3 Statutory inquiries in administrative law
1.4 Local authorities
1.5 Administrative tribunals
1.6 Public corporations, executive and privatized agencies
2. Administrative powers
2.1 The Nature and Characteristics of Administrative Powers (statutory powers;
the nature of statutory administrative powers; the nature of discretionary powers;
characteristics of administrative powers; the initiation of administrative action;
licensing; financial regulation; contractual regulation; regulation by the criminal
law; disciplinary regulation)
2.2 The Sources of Administrative Powers (the range of administrative powers,
legislation, the advantages and disadvantages of legislation; the preparation of
legislation; the categories of legislation; the legislative procedure for public bills;
the legislative procedure for private bills; the status of private bills; the scope of
private Acts, private local Acts and reorganization of local government;
provisional orders; special procedure orders)
2.3 Delegated Legislation (primary and delegated legislation in action; statutory
instruments; the classification of delegated legislation; bylaws; compulsory
purchase orders; standing orders; the publication of statutory instruments;
parliamentary control of delegated legislation; delegated legislation and the
courts)
3. Judicial Review, Ultra Vires and Natural Justice
3.1 Procedural Ultra Vires (statutory procedures; mandatory and directory
procedures; public functions; individual rights and interests; individuals

10 hours.

procedure obligations; application requirements; appeal requirements; objections;

specific areas of procedure)
3.2 Consultation (legal effect of a failure to consult); Delegation (government
departments and local authorities; implied authority; legal effects of delegation);
Estoppel (requirements for common law estoppels, restriction of estoppels;
estoppel and government policy); Communication of Decisions; Reasons (the
purpose of reasons; legal effect of a failure to give reasons or adequate intelligible
reasons)
3.3 Natural Justice (background to natural justice; exclusion or limitation of
natural justice; statutory provisions; absence of rights; preliminary processes;
absence of contractual or similar relationships; professional advice; disciplinary
proceedings); Judicial and Administrative Functions (the duty to act judicially;
reliance on the distinction between functions); the duty to act fairly (the rule
against bias; application of the rule against bias; the test for bias; modification or
exclusion; the right to be heard; prior notice; the opportunity to be heard; scope of
the rule; legal representation; duty to give reasons); the effect of breaches of
natural justice.
3.4 Substantive Ultra Vires (the nature of substantive powers; judicial review of
substantive powers; the limits of statutory powers (defining the limits;
fundamental matters of law; inferior courts; administrative agencies; error of Law
on the Face of the Record (error of law on the face of the record and the doctrine
of ultra vires; ouster clauses and the doctrine of ultra vires; the limits of
discretionary powers (the problem of subjectively worded discretionary powers);
policy and the exercise of discretionary powers (lawful and unlawful policies;
Acts under dictation; the interpretation and application of policy); relevant
considerations; improper purposes; total unreasonableness; proportionality)

Learning Unit Ten

Net contact hours
12 hours.

4. Remedies for Unlawful and Irregular Administrative Action

4.1 Administrative Remedies (administrative and judicial remedies contrasted;
varieties of administrative remedy; administrative remedies and the Question of
Legality; administrative versus judicial remedies; administrative and judicial
remedies serving the same purpose; exclusive administrative remedies)
4.2 Judicial Remedies (Judicial Remedies Generally; Appeals; the general appeal;
the appeal on a point of law; review; the declaration (uses of the declaration in
administrative law; exclusion of the declaration; Locus standi generally; locus
standi for the declaration); the injunction (varieties of injunction; the prohibitory
injunction; the mandatory injunction; the interlocutory injunction; locus standi for
the injunction; injunctions and the Crown); certiorari (the grounds for certiorari;
bodies amenable to certiorari; certiorari and the duty to act judicially; certiorari
and private bodies; locus standi for certiorari) Prohibition; Mandamus(the legally
enforceable duty; the scope of mandamus; locus standi for mandamus);
the application for judicial review (recommendation for reform: the application
for judicial review; remedies available on an application for judicial review;
procedures and other requirements; the importance of the application for judicial
review; the application for judicial review and the protection of rights in public
law; proposals for reforming judicial review); statutory review (the background to
statutory review; the scope of statutory review; the grounds for statutory review;
the six-week limitation; the person aggrieved); damages.

Learning Unit
Five

5.Crown Proceedings
5.1 The Background to Crown Proceedings (The Crown Proceedings Act);

Net contact hours

8 hours

Learning Unit Six

Net contact hours
5 hours

Total Contact
Hours
Basic Text

Contracts and the Crown (employment contracts; the funding of crown contracts;
contracts fettering future executive action by the crown); tortious liability of the
crown (vicarious liability of the crown; the employers common law duties;
common law duties relating to crown property; breach of statutory duty; the
discharge of judicial responsibilities; immunity in respect of certain acts of
members of the armed forces); Judicial Remedies and the Crown (mandamus and
the crown; injunctions and the crown); procedure; public interest immunity (the
conclusiveness of claims opposing discovery; public interest immunity
recognized; the application of public interest immunity; administrative agencies
and the disclosure of confidential confidential information; public interest
immunity and Matrix Churchill, public interest immunity certificates)
6. Remedies for Maladministration
6.1 The Ombudsman Remedy (the Ombudsmen in the UK); the parliamentary
commissioner for administration (government departments and authorities subject
to investigation; matters excluded from investigation; complaints; alternative
remedies; the investigation of administrative functions; procedures for
investigations; injustice in consequence of maladministration; maladministration
and injustice in practice; judicial review of reports and decisions)
48 Hours ( excluding assessment, assignment and final examinations
M P Jain and S N Jain, Principles of Administrative Law (LexisNexis, 2015)
The Constitution of Nepal, 2015
Chapters, Articles and Notes as prescribed by the subject teacher

Evaluation
Scheme

In-semester evaluation
End-semester evaluation
Total

50 %
50 %
100 %