The Rule of the Courts

Courts and Rule of Law: Past, Present, and Future

the Administration (“Administrative Court”), but also specific administrative procedural means (“judicial review”). Thus, returning to the courts and adopting a comparative perspective, it can be seen that today, both in France and in the United Kingdom, there are specialised courts for adjudicating administrative disputes, as well as specific procedural rules for these proceedings, the only difference between the two systems being whether or not there are higher courts in administrative matters. This means that the real question to be asked, from a comparative law perspective, is no longer whether a given country has a single or dual juris diction, but rather what the scope, level (first instance or second instance) and extent of specialisation in administrative matters is in that particular system. It can be seen that today, in most countries, there is always some level of specialisation in administrative matters, whether at first instance (e.g. United Kingdom), at second instance (e.g. federal courts in the USA or Brazil), or at all instances (e.g. France and Portugal) 47 . Adopting comparative law from a ‘group therapy’ perspective, it can be seen that analysis of the different models of court organisation in admin istrative matters leads to an almost paradoxical result (given their historical origins). This is because, as a rule, it is the countries with greater specialisation in administrative justice that have judges who are more knowledgeable and effective in dealing with administrative power, and are therefore able to be more effective in controlling the administration and protecting the rights of individuals. At this point, it must be acknowledged that the limited doctrinal treatment given to the powers of judges, despite their relevance in the framework of the doctrine of separation of powers, explains the ‘childhood traumas’ of the powers of the courts, both ‘common’ and ‘administrative’, 47 VASCO PEREIRA DA SILVA, ‘Rally in favour of Administrative Justice’, in ELPIS v-Law Review No 8/2023, ‘Right to Culture through Time’ (http://www.elpisnetwork.eu/elpis v-law-review-8-2024-law-and-culture/); VASCO PEREIRA DA SILVA “In Defence of the Autonomy of Administrative and Fiscal Jurisdiction”, in “In Defence of the Autonomy of Administrative and Fiscal Jurisdiction”, CEDIPRE – Centre for Public Law and Regulation Studies, Coimbra, 2018, p. 85.

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