Basis for Administrative Law ( Look At Assignment Criteria ) - Essay Example

Australian Administrative Law Administrative law is a body of laws that regulate government decision making. It is a form of accountability mechanism that applies to government decision making about individual matters. The Australian federal administrative law system is based on the essentials or fundamental principles laid down in the Australian constitution that separate the roles of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. According to the constitution, the legislature is mandated to decide on the criteria for decision making, merits review of decisions and to hold the ministers accountable for their decisions (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011).

The executive is authorized to assess the merits of certain cases following the legislatures laid down criteria. On the hand the legislature declares and enforces the legal boundaries of the powers of the legislature. The administrative law system thus ensures that both the people and the government are bound by law (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011).There are various courts and tribunals in Australia that support administrative law. The courts range from the high court that conducts judicial review as provided for under section 75(v) of the constitution.

Others include the federal court systems such as Federal Court of Australia and the Federal Magistrates court of Australia (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011). There are a variety of tribunals that support administrative law and these include the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) that reviews a range of administrative decisions made by ministers, officials, authorities and other tribunals such as the Australian Appeals Tribunal, copyright tribunal of Australia, council of Australian tribunals and the Defence Force Appeal Tribunal among others (Australian Government, 2011).

The principal function of courts as laid down in the constitution is to resolve disputes about any matter that concerns legal rights and obligations. They help resolve conflicts that may arise between persons and in the government (Gifford, 1997). Tribunals on the other hand are bodies that are established under the Australian constitution to review the merits of administrative decisions. This is because most of the time government decisions affect private interests and those decisions at times are not lawful but are correct according to the interpretation of the executive.

Therefore any person or body affected by such decisions submits there issues to the relevant tribunal (AM, 2006). The only similarity is that the two are used for solving disputes but at different levels.ReferencesAM, H. J. (2006, March 27). The Roles of Courts and tribunals. Retrieved September 28, 2011, from Australian Administrative Tribunal: http://www.aat.gov.au/Publications/SpeechesAndPapers/Downes/pdf/RoleCourtsTribunalsMarch2006.pdfAustralian Government. (2011). Courts and Tribunals. Retrieved September 28, 2011, from Australian Government: http://australia.gov.au/topics/law-and-justice/courts-and-tribunalsCommonwealth of Australia. (2011). Australian Administrative law: Policy guide.

Retrieved Septemeber 28, 2011, from Australian Government: Department of The Attorney General: http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(9A5D88DBA63D32A661E6369859739356)~Australian+Administrative+Law+Policy+Guide+-+July+2011.PDF/$file/Australian+Administrative+Law+Policy+Guide+-+July+2011.PDFGifford, D. J. (1997). Understanding the Australian Legal System. London, UK: Routledge.