ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: TOWARDS A COMMON MODEL OF ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of this paper is to analyse the activity of the European agencies as a mechanism of control prior to the judicial review. This procedure is carried out by independent and impartial administrative tribunals. This model supposes to create specialized administrative organs that solve conflicts previous to the judicial procedure. The “agencies model” is mainly used in western countries with legal Anglo-Saxon reminiscences. In this paper we analyze the importance of these agencies and its possibilities for improvement in the near future. Method. To achieve this goal it is necessary to: 1) analysis the creative solutions of the agencies courts; 2) verify the performance of agencies through the information provided by themselves; 3) discuss the judicial decisions from a scientific perspective. This process has been implemented through direct contact with experts and professional actively involved at these European administrative courts. Results. EU law is haphazardly creating a system of administrative review that is in many cases a pre-condition to judicial review. This system is most evidently manifesting itself in the application of EU law by administrative agencies. For this purpose, some of the EU’s most important agencies have created specialised bodies known as boards of appeal. These objective and independent bodies have the power to review the decisions of the agency they form part on based on both questions of law and fact. The paper aims to establish a critical vision of the role that new judicial forms are developing and the importance of to reach a specialized criterion for solving technically increasingly complex issues. Conclusions. The board-of-appeal model has proven a successful one as it offers parties a low-cost and effective way of having their complaints resolved without having to go to the European Union Court of Justice. Lastly, there appears to be a need for the European Union to, as it is currently doing with administrative procedure, establish a common set of rules for this emerging remedy for reviewing European administrative acts.