Administrative Sanctions: Between Efficiency and Procedural Fairness

Abstract

The article aims at presenting - from Poland’s perspective - the challenges in building an adequate system of administrative sanctions. It is claimed that the efficiency of the functioning of this system should be balanced with the appropriate level of observance of procedural fairness as well as with appropriate rules governing the attribution of administrative liability. This article analyzes three areas where a balanced approach is needed: the first concerns the bases for administrative liability, the second the scope of procedural rights, and the third the institutional arrangement of the system. This article names two factors that should be taken into consideration when deciding how to reconcile efficiency with procedural fairness. Taken into account should be, first, the complexity of the given area of administrative law and, second, the severity of the sanctions.