RESEARCH PROJECT ON

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT 1946

SUBMITTED TO

In Fulfilment of the Requirements for Internal Component in

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW I

By

DINESH KUMAR. R

(Reg. No. BA0140015)

UNDER THE GUIDANCE & SUPERVISION OF

Prof. Ms. DEEPA MANICKAM

Justification of topic:-

The Administrative Procedure Act, 1946 is a United States Federal Statute which consolidates
the law regarding administration of agencies of the Federal Government. The Act is part of a
branch of law called the administrative law. Administrative law seeks to lay down rules
regarding exercise of power by heads of administrations. Administrative agencies are
considered as instrumentalities of the State, hence those heading such institutes are bound to
act lawfully and according to general principles of law. The Administrative Procedure Act
governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations. It includes
requirements for publishing notices of proposed and final rulemaking in the Federal Register,
and provides opportunities for the public to comment on notices of proposed rulemaking. The
Administrative Procedure Act requires most rules to have a 30-day delayed effective date. In
addition to setting forth rulemaking procedures, the Administrative Procedure Act addresses
other agency actions such as issuance of policy statements, licenses, and permits. It also
provides standards for judicial review if a person has been adversely affected or aggrieved by
an agency action. Administrative law in India is primarily a judge-based law and no specific
statute exists to govern it. Judges review administrative actions on the touchstone of legal
principles and strike-down actions that are prime facie unconscionable. The Administrative
Tribunals Act, 1985 however has been enacted to establish various Administrative Tribunals
in India. In order to understand better the various facets of administrative law,The objectives
of the Administrative Procedure Act and compared with India:-At first to require agencies to
keep the public informed of their organization, procedures and rules. In India, the Right to
Information Act, 2005 has achieved stellar success in keeping citizens informed. Secondly to
provide for public participation in the rule-making process. In India, The Citizen's Charter is
enacted by an organization to make decision-making democratic. Thirdly to establish uniform
standards for the conduct of formal rule-making and adjudication. Various principles of law,
decided by the Indian judiciary, have formalized rule-making. And To define the scope of
judicial review. Indian courts usually exercise restraint in interfering with administrative
decision, unless a patent illegality exists.
Chapterization

Chapter I

Introduction

Chapter II

Purpose of the administrative procedure act

Chapter III

Background of the administrative procedure act

Applicability of the act

Formal rulemaking of the agency

Chapter IV

Advantage and Disadvantage

Chapter V

Conclusion

Research Objective

In objective this project the researcher doing the comparative study of this doctrine in various
countries like USA, and India and the administrative procedure act. At last researcher framing
some opinion and suggestion as per my understanding of this doctrine.
Research question

What are the Basic Purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act?

Why administrative procedure act is not applicable in india?

What is the general structure of the act and the rule making and the adjudication ?

RESEARCH METHOD

The research methodology which is adopted in this project is doctrine method. The sources
which are used for this project are primary source like articles, website and secondary source
like books.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Don meyer and Daniel M warner Business and legal environment in this article the author
says that the Agencies make rules that have the same effect as laws passed by Congress and
the president. But such rules and regulations must allow for full participation by interested
parties. The Administrative Procedure Act governs both rulemaking and the agency
enforcement of regulations, and it provides a process for fair hearings
INTRODUCTION:-

The administrative procedure act, officially enacted on june 11th of 1946,is a united states
federal law that administers the way in which administrative agencies may propose and put
regulations , the Administrative Procedure Act also created a formal process for the United
States the federal courts have the ability to directly review agency decisions. The
Administrative Procedure Act is considered as one of the most important act of administrative
law in the United States of America.

The Administrative Procedure Act is applicable to both the federal executive department, and
the independent agencies of the United States federal government. , and also the
Administrative Procedure Act is a bill of rights for millions of Americans whose affairs are
directly related to and controlled by federal agencies of the nations government. The official
text of the Administrative Procedure Act is under Title 5 of the United States Code.

In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt, to bring up the fallen economy and further organize
the governing state, brought several statutes that created new federal agencies .and after the
development of such agencies, however, Congress was concerned about the expanding
powers that such agencies possessed. this concern ultimately resulted in the enactment of the
Administrative Procedure Act.1 When created, the act was designed to regulate and to
standardize federal agency procedures. This act describes what is an agency and who is a
person and what is an part and what an rule is and also says about the adjudication, licesnse,
sanction but it does not include the Congress, the courts of the United States, the
governments of the territories or possessions of the United States, the government of the
District of Columbia, agencies composed of representatives of the parties or of
representatives of organizations of the parties to the disputes determined by them, courts
martial and military commissions, military authority exercised in the field in time of war or in
occupied territory

To provide a safeguard, the Administrative Procedure Act created a framework for regulating
agencies and their various roles. According the legislation itself, the basic purpose of the
1 Business and legal environment Don meyer and Daniel M warner
Administrative Procedure Act is the require agencies to keep the public informed concerning
their organization, procedures and rules ,provide for public participation in the rulemaking
process , establish uniform standards for the conduct of formal rulemaking and adjudication,
define the scope of judicial review. it has been amended remarkably little since 1946, and its
provisions have served as models for many other administrative procedure laws in the fifty
states and countries around the world.

Purpose of the administrative procedure act:-

Government agencies, whether they are funded and operating under a federal department or
independent, are all unique governmental bodies are capable of exercising authority similar to
all three branches of the United States federal government. Administrative procedures are a
set or system of rules that govern the procedures for managing an organization.
These procedures are meant to establish efficiency, consistency, responsibility, and
accountability the basic Purpose of the administrative procedure act is To provide a
safeguard, the Administrative Procedure Act created a framework for regulating agencies and
their various roles. As recognized by President Roosevelt and others, the creation and
function of federal agencies can cause separation of powers issues under the United States
Constitution. To provide constitutional safeguards, the Administrative Procedure Act creates
a framework for regulating agencies and their roles. According to the Attorney General's
Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act, , the basic purposes of the Administrative
Procedure Act are to require agencies to keep the public informed of their organization,
procedures and rules, to provide for public participation in the rulemaking process,to
establish uniform standards for the conduct of formal rulemaking and adjudication,to define
the scope of judicial review.2

According the legislation itself, the basic purpose of the Administrative Procedure Act is to
require agencies to keep the public informed concerning their organization, procedures and
rules and to provide for public participation in the rulemaking process and to establish
uniform standards for the conduct of formal rulemaking and adjudication and define the
scope of judicial review. these provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act apply to the
2 Epic.org
majority of federal government agencies and institutions. An agency, as defined by the
Administrative Procedure Act, is each authority of the Government of the United States,
whether or not it is within or subject to review by another agency. This definition does not
include a number of authorities such as the President, Congress, the federal courts and
governments of territories or possessions of the United States. Administrative procedures are
important because they provide an objective set of rules by which an organization is
governed. They also help establish the legitimacy of management action by ensuring the
application of management rules and decisions is done in an objective, fair, and consistent
manner.

Background of the administrative procedure act:-

President Roosevelt requested Attorney General Cummings to appoint a committee to make

a thorough study of existing administrative procedures and to submit whatever
recommendations were deemed advisable. For this purpose the Attorney General appointed a
committee of eminent lawyers, jurists, scholars and administrators, In
1939, Roosevelt requested that Attorney General Frank Murphy form a committee to
investigate practices and procedures in American administrative law and suggest
improvements. That committee's report, the Final Report of Attorney General's Committee on
Administrative Procedure, contains detailed information about the development and
procedures of the federal agencies t he Administrative Procedure Act was signed by President
Truman on June 11, 1946 . It was intended primarily as a guide to the agencies in adjusting
their procedures to the requirements of the Act. The purpose of this article is to explain the
significance of the various procedural requirements that were considered, and to develop and
test a political theory of why some proposals were passed while others were rejected, and
why a decade passed before legislation could succeed establish uniform standards for the
conduct of formal rulemaking and adjudication, define the scope of judicial review. In 1933,
President Franklin Roosevelt, to bring up the fallen economy and further organize the
governing state, brought several statutes that created new federal agencies .and after the
development of such agencies, however, Congress was concerned about the expanding
powers that such agencies possessed this concern ultimately resulted in the enactment of the
Administrative Procedure Act.3 When created, the act was designed to regulate and to
3 Administrative Procedure Act (1946) Jeffrey S. Lubbers
standardize federal agency procedures. This act describes what is an agency and who is a
person and what is an part and what an rule is and also says about the adjudication, license,
sanction but it does not include the Congress, the courts of the United States, the
governments of the territories or possessions of the United States, the government of the
District of Columbia, agencies composed of representatives of the parties or of
representatives of organizations of the parties to the disputes determined by them, courts
martial and military commissions, military authority exercised in the field in time of war or in
occupied territory. The rule-making procedures provoked little controversy during the
debates, although decades later, as rule-making became much more common, other laws were
passed that added more formality to the process. These include the Occupational Safety and
Health Act and the Clean Air Act, and government-wide statutes such as the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, Paperwork Reduction Act, and Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

Applicability of the act:-

the Supreme Court issued several decisions that promoted the applicability of the act,
including decisions validating the act's due process protections, judicial review provisions
The Administrative Procedure Act has been widely accepted ever since. The courts have
enforced its provisions by making quite clear that the agencies must follow the
Administrative Procedure Act 's procedures when it is applicable. Significantly, the Supreme
Court has also made the Administrative Procedure Act a safe ruling that lower courts may not
require agencies to use procedures beyond those required by procedural provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act or other statutes Congress regularly incorporates references to
the Administrative Procedure Act in other legislation. Only a few major amendments have
been added to the Administrative Procedure Act. In 1966 the Freedom of Information Act
was added to the provisions in section 552 that already called for the publication of certain
government information. In 1976, Also in that year, some technical amendments made it
easier for challengers to sue the government. After President Truman signed the
Administrative Procedure Act into law in June 1946, the Department of Justice compiled a
manual of advice and interpretation of its various provisions. The Attorney General's Manual
on the Administrative Procedure Act, published in 1947, remains the principal guide to the
structure and intent of the Administrative Procedure Act. The Manual states that the purposes
of the act were to require agencies to keep the public currently informed of their organization,
procedures, and rules, provide for public participation in the rule-making process, prescribe
uniform standards for the conduct of rule making and adjudicative proceedings, and restate
the law of judicial review.

Formal rulemaking of the agency:-

The Administrative Procedure Act has two major subdivisions: sections 551 through 559 deal
in general with agency procedures, and sections 701 through 706 deal in general with judicial
review. The latter sections restate the principles of judicial review contained in many statutes
and judicial decisions, but leave the details regarding judicial review to be governed by other
statutes or court decisions. an agency creates a rule when it seeks to implement, interpret, or
prescribe law or policy The Administrative Procedure Act describes a particular rulemaking
process with which agencies are required to comply. Typically, the agency must give a notice
of a proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register. The Federal Register is the
official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and
organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. The notice must
include the date the rule will come into effect, the legal authority the agency has proposed the
rule under, and the substance of the rule. After notice is given, the agency is required to go
through and accept public comments on the rule. There is no minimum period specified for
the comment period to remain open, and it often varies with the complexity of the rule. Most
comment periods last between 30 and 60 days, and some are re-opened if the agency believes
that there was insufficient time for the public to respond or that the agency did not receive as
much feedback as it would like. The agency must then consider all of the comments that are
submitted in passing the final rule. In certain cases, an agency must undergo a formal
rulemaking, which requires a courtroom-style hearing.4 During formal rulemaking, decisions
are reached on the basis of evidence given and received on the record The Administrative
Procedure Act also describes certain cases where the notice and comment rulemaking process
is not required, including two general exceptions that is Rule involves a military or foreign
affairs function of the United States and The Rules involves a matter relating to agency

4 The administrative procedure act 1946

management or personally or to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts. Through
rule making, government agencies can regulate the future conduct of persons. Rule making is
essentially a legislative action because, like the making of laws, the making of rules is an
action that becomes applicable in the future.

Advantage and Disadvantage:-

The Administrative Procedure Act governs internal procedures of administrative agencies,

including how they interact with the public. This is the main advantage of this act. And also
The structure of the Administrative Procedure Act reflects the distinction between rule
making and adjudication, with different sets of procedural requirements prescribed for each.
Government agencies formulate and issue rules, statements designed to implement, interpret,
or prescribe law or policy. Through rule making, government agencies can regulate the future
conduct of persons. Rule making is essentially a legislative action because, like the making of
laws, the making of rules is an action that becomes applicable in the future. In contrast to rule
making, adjudication is a process of determining past and present rights and liabilities. The
result of an adjudicative proceeding is the issuance of an order. And also the advantage of this
is The Administrative Procedure Act has been widely accepted ever since. The courts have
enforced its provisions by making quite clear that the agencies must follow the
Administrative Procedure Acts procedures when it is applicable Only a few major
amendments have been added to the Administrative Procedure Act. In 1966 the Freedom of
Information Act was added to the provisions in section 552 that already called for the
publication of certain government information.and also it is easily relatable to other laws
The Administrative Procedure Act is broadly related to numerous laws because many of its
provisions must be triggered by another statute. The act is more directly related to such
openness laws as the Freedom of Information Act, the Government in the Sunshine Act, the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, and the Privacy Act. Its adjudication procedures have been
supplemented by the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act. Its rule-making provisions have
been supplemented by the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act. The
Administrative Procedure Act has proved to be a durable and important force in regularizing
the procedures of the federal bureaucracy. Its emphasis on transparency, fairness, and access
to the courts has increased the accountability, fairness, efficiency, and acceptability of a wide
range of government decision making the disadvantages are that the commentators have
noted some flaws, because of its lack of guidance on informal adjudication, many observers
have praised its innovations, such as notice-and-comment rule making and administrative law
judges and In certain cases, an agency must undergo a formal rulemaking, which requires a
courtroom-style hearing. During formal rulemaking, decisions are reached on the basis of
evidence given and received on the record. Formal rulemaking is appropriate in two cases
where a statute provides that rules are required to be made on the record after opportunity for
an agency hearing and in rulemakings that involve adjudicative facts, or facts specific to the
rights of an individual. After notice required by this section, the agency shall give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making through submission of written data,
views, or arguments with or without opportunity for oral presentation. After consideration of
the relevant matter presented, the agency shall incorporate in the rules adopted a concise
general statement of their basis and purpose. Unless another statute provides otherwise,
every executive branch department and agency must follow the Administrative Procedure Act
's minimum procedures for adjudication and rule making. It requires relatively minimal
procedures for informal rule making. The Administrative Procedure Act prescribes very few
procedures for the remaining category of informal adjudication, which is by far the most
common form of governmental action. After consideration of the relevant matter presented,
the agency shall incorporate in the rules adopted a concise general statement of their basis
and purpose. And also it states what are the functions and duties of the agency and when it
should be applied and it also limits the power of the agencies to a certain limit .

Conclusion:-

The Administrative Procedure Act is broadly related to numerous laws because many of its
provisions must be triggered by another statute. The act is more directly related to such
openness laws as the Freedom of Information Act, the Government in the Sunshine Act, the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, and the Privacy Act. Its adjudication procedures have been
supplemented by the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act. Its rule-making provisions have
been supplemented by the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act.
The Administrative Procedure Act has proved to be a durable and important force in
regularizing the procedures of the federal bureaucracy. Its emphasis on transparency, fairness,
and access to the courts has increased the accountability, fairness, efficiency, and
acceptability of a wide range of government decision making.

The Administrative Procedure Act applies to both the federal executive departments and
the independent agencies. The Administrative Procedure Act defines a rule as the whole or a
part of an agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to
implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or describing the organization, procedure, or
practice requirements of an agency and includes the approval or prescription for the future of
rates, wages, corporate or financial structures or reorganizations thereof, prices, facilities,
appliances, services or allowances therefore or of valuations, costs, or accounting, or
practices bearing on any of the foregoing.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:-
PRIMARY SOURCE-
Administrative procedure act 1946
Business and legal environment Don meyer and Daniel M warner

SECONDARY SOURCE-

Administrative Procedure Act (1946) Jeffrey S. Lubbers