Glossary of legal terms

Ground of review of administrative acts concerning situations in which administrative authorities have misused their discretionary power either because it has been used for improper purposes (having regard to the proper scope of this legal power) or because the authorities have exceeded the limits of this power or have violated fundamental rights or principles such as equal treatment, reasonableness, proportionality etc.

Right granted to the parties to full access to documents, data, and information, while respecting the legitimate interests of confidentiality and of professional and business secrecy. Any limitation to this right shall be duly reasoned.

Omission to pass judgment on a claim brought forward by a claimant. Such an omission can be corrected via appeal or through the means of a specific remedy

Judicial remedy which enables the Administrative Court to annul an administrative (regulatory or individual) acts, for e.g. violation of the law, incompetence and abuse of power. The action has to be proposed within a time limit.

Judicial remedy which enables the parties to question the authenticity of a written document.

The parties may request clarification of some obscure concept contained in the judgment, on the understanding that the request for clarification cannot serve to modify the legal statements contained in the judgment or change the meaning of the judgment.

Judicial remedy concerning non contractual liability of the State, which enables the Administrative Court to award compensation for damage arising from the unlawful exercise of an administrative activity or the non-exercise of a mandatory one.

Judicial remedy to achieve the implementation of the final judgments of the Administrative Court and of other enforceable measures of the administrative courts.

The court, in the event the application is accepted, may order for example enforcement, prescribing the mean; declare null and void any acts in violation or circumvention of the res judicata; appoint, where necessary, an ad acta commissioner; it determines, at the request of one party, the sum of money payable by the defendant for each violation or subsequent non-compliance, or for any delay in the carrying out of the res judicata.

A judicial remedy which enables the Administrative Court to order the administration, which has remained inert or inactive, to take action within a time limit. (This is known as the remedy of mandamus in common law countries).

Judicial remedy requiring a public authority to perform a public function. (This is known as the remedy of mandatory injunction in common law countries).

Judicial remedy by which the interested party may challenge the decisions (formal or implied) on issues of access to administrative documents and against any other infringement of transparency requirements.

A binding act by an authority, exercising public power, in an administrative matter.

Binding administrative act which is not addressed to a specific addressee and which, alternatively, regulates defined cases or an undefined number of cases.

A binding administrative act having legal consequences addressed towards one specific addressee or a narrowly defined group of addresses

Any kind of activity taken by public administration (e.g. providing administrative measures; material activity of enforcement of administrative acts; providing of public services; etc…).