Administrative Justice as a Universal Human Right (Justiça Administrativa como um Direito Humano Universal) Professor Sir Jeffrey Jowell Emeritus Professor of Public Law, University College London, UK Founding Director of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law

SUMMARY (RESUMO) This paper will discuss how rights and entitlements gain acceptance as international standards. It will concentrate on the concept of Administrative Justice (sometimes called “just administration”, or “good administration” (which somewhat differs from “good governance”) which has been gaining acceptance as a universal right, through four routes: Domestic judicial (or other) review: The growing acceptance that all public officials ought to act lawfully, procedurally fairly, and rationally (or reasonably), and that there should be mechanisms (through judicial review or other means) to enforce these standards; Established human rights instruments: These instruments contain aspects of Administrative Justice, such as the requirement of judicial independence, fair hearings, etc.

SUMMARY CONTINUED (CONTINUAÇÃO DO RESUMO) - It will concentrate on the concept of Administrative Justice (sometimes called “just administration”, or “good administration” (which somewhat differs from “good governance”) which has been gaining acceptance as a universal right, through four routes (Continued): The Rule of Law: The growing international acceptance of the Rule of Law and administrative justice as central to the concept of the Rule of Law [ seen, for example in the documents on the rule of law published by the Council of Europe’s Commission for Democracy through Law (‘The Venice Commission’), and the recent United Nations post-2015 ‘Sustainable Development Goals’]. The Constitutionalisation of the Right to Administrative Justice: The development, begun in Southern Africa in the 1990s and now spread around the world, to incorporate the right to administrative justice as a constitutional right.

CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (2000/C 364/01) Article 41 Right to good administration: Every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions and bodies of the Union. This right includes: the right of every person to be heard, before any individual measure which would affect him or her adversely is taken; the right of every person to have access to his or her file, while respecting the legitimate interests of confidentiality and of professional and business secrecy; the obligation of the administration to give reasons for its decisions. Every person has the right to have the Community make good any damage caused by its institutions or by its servants in the performance of their duties, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States. 4. Every person may write to the institutions of the Union in one of the languages of the Treaties and must have an answer in the same language.

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA ACT. No.108 OF 1996 Just administrative action: 33.(1) Everyone has the right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair. (2) Everyone whose rights have been adversely affected by administrative action has the right to be given written reasons. (3) National legislation must be enacted to give effect to these rights, and must- provide for the review of administrtative action by a court or, where appropriate, an independent and impartial tribunal; impose a duty on the state to give effect to the rights in subsections (1 and (2); and promote efficient administration.