Hybrid | Politics by Other Means, Judicial Review of Administrative Action in France and the US

About this Seminar

In the past few years, judicial review of administrative action has unexpectedly become a topic of controversy in France and the United States. In both countries, judicial review has long been a cornerstone of “the rule of law” or “Etat de droit.” Yet, in France, the past ten years have witnessed important changes in its scope that have generated worry. And in the United States, ever since Republicans achieved a majority on the Supreme Court, each year brings new, highly controversial decisions in which administrative action has been overturned or curtailed as a means to advance conservative policy.These shared developments invite comparison. France and the United States are often taken to be exemplars of fundamentally different approaches to administrative law. But, it seems, they are undergoing some shared experiences, at least with respect to the judicial review of administrative action.This article seeks to understand those shared developments. It identifies two trends common to recent French and American judicial review of administrative action: the greater use, in both countries, of judicial review as a way to pursue politics by other means and the increasing review by judges of deformalized administrative materials. The article explains these changes, shows how the French and American administrative legal systems have tried to manage them, and explores some lessons each country can learn from the other.

Image by succo from Pixabay

About the Speaker

Noah A. Rosenblum is an assistant professor of law at New York University School of Law, where he was previously the Samuel I. Golieb Fellow in Legal History. Rosenblum works on state and federal administrative law, constitutional law, and legal history, and is a frequent commentator on the New York State judiciary. His scholarship takes a historical approach to the study of state institutions, seeking to understand how law can be used to promote democratic accountability. He is currently pursuing several projects on the place of the president in the administrative state.

Rosenblum graduated from Deep Springs and Harvard College, earned his JD from Yale Law School, and received his PhD in history from Columbia University. Before joining NYU, he clerked for Judge Jenny Rivera of the New York Court of Appeals and Judge Guido Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

About the Commentators

Commentators for this seminar include:

Dr Silvia Suteu is Associate Professor at UCL Laws, having joined the Faculty in September 2016. She teaches and researches in the areas of comparative constitutional law, constitutional theory, gender and law, and UK public law. She is a recognised expert on the theory and practice of constitutional change, gender-sensitive constitution-making, and participatory and deliberative constitutionalism. (Chair for this event)

 

 

 

Colm O’Cinneide is Professor of Constitutional and Human Rights Law at University College London(UCL). A graduate of University College Cork, he has published extensively in the field of comparative constitutional, humanrights and anti-discrimination law. He has also acted as specialist legal adviser to theJoint Committee on Human Rights and the Women & Equalities Committee of theUK Parliament, and advised a range of international organisations including theUN, ILO and the European Commission. He also was from 2006-16 a member of theEuropean Committee on Social Rights of the Council of Europe (serving as Vice-President of the Committee from 2010-4), and since 2008 hasbeen a member of the academic advisory board of Blackstone Chambers in London.

About the Group

The UCL Public Law Group is a community of scholars working in the field of public law, broadly understood. Our aim is to provide a supportive forum for the discussion and development of theoretical and doctrinal questions in constitutional theory, comparative constitutional law, human rights, judicial review, legal and political theory, and more. 

Read more about the group and its work.

Book your place

You can attend this event in-person at UCL Faculty of Laws (Bentham House, 4-8 Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG) or alternatively you can join remotely

Please make sure you choose the correct ticket when booking your place.

Book your place

Subscribe to the Public Law Group mailing list.