Chapter III - ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES AND THE PRINCIPLES OF SEPARATION AND NON-DELEGATION OF POWERS Flashcards
In general, how are the principles of separation
and non-delegation of powers applied in admin
agencies?
Laws enacted by the legislature prescribing the
powers and functions of administrative agencies
must respect constitutional limitations.
It is important to determine whether the transfer
violates constitutional inhibitions since admin
agencies are usually vested rule-making and
adjudicatory powers similar to legislative and
judicial powers.
What are the three broad segments of the study
of Administrative Law?
1) Transfer of power from the legislature to
administrative agencies;
2) Exercise of such delegated powers by these
agencies;
3) Review of such administrative actions by the
courts
What are the most common limitations imposed
by the constitution?
Constitutional principles of separation of powers
and non-delegability of powers.
Prohibits the delegation of legislative power,
the vesting of judicial officers with non-
judicial functions, as well as the investing of
non-judicial officers with judicial powers.
It is for these reasons that the principles of
separation and non-delegation of powers are
intertwined with the 1
st
& 3
rd
segments in the
study of admin law.
What is the Rule of Non-Delegation of Powers?
No department of the gov’t (legis, exec &
judiciary) can abdicate authority or escape
responsibility by delegating any of its power to
another body.
EXCEPT: when such delegation is authorized
by Consti.
EFFECT of delegation: It is VOID under the
maxim of potestas delegate non potest delagari
What is the ethical basis for the Rule?
Based on the principle of potestas delegate non
potest delegari
A delegated power constitutes not only a
right but a duty to be performed by the
delegate by the instrumentality of his own
judgment and not through the intervening
mind of another.
What the law shall be
Whom it may be applied
What acts are necessary to effectuate the
law.
Legislature can’t delegate to admin agencies
the determination of:
Unconstitutional delegation of power is not
validated by the establishment of:
Procedural safeguards;
Right of judicial review; or
Assumption that the officer acts and will
act for the public good.
What are the exceptions to non-delegation of
powers by legis?
1) When permitted by the Constitution itself;*
2) In case of delegation of legislative powers to
local gov’ts*
3) Delegation of the power to “fill in” details;
4) Delegation of rule-making and adjudicatory
powers to admin bodies, PROVIDED,
ascertainable standards are set;
5) Delegation of power to ascertain facts,
contingencies, or events upon which the
applicability or non-applicability of a law is
made to depend;
6) Delegation of powers to the people at large,
when such has been reserved in the Constitution;
7) Delegation of power to the executive in the field
of foreign or international relations.
* Note: Strictly speaking there are only two
instances of permissible delegation that is nos. 1&2,
exceptions no. 3-7 are exceptions in a broader sense.
What are permissible delegations under the
Constitution?
In the Emergency Powers Cases, the SC
interpreted Sec. 22(2) of 1935 Consti and ruled:
The grant of emergency powers to the
President in times of war or any other
national emergency should be for a “limited
period”. And such powers are
Self-liquidating in nature
Co-extensive and co-existent with the
emergency w/c gave rise to the grant
thereof.
When Congress is able to meet and regularly
perform other duties under the Constitution,
an automatical extinction of the law
delegating such emergency powers results.
In one case, Justice Padilla (concurring
opinion) said that:
To withdraw, terminate or revoke the
delegation of legislative powers to the
President, a concurrent resolution
would be sufficient.
What is the exception of Delegation of Powers to
the People at Large?
People in their sovereign capacity have
voluntarily delegated the power to enact laws to
the legislature, and conversely, no objection may
be raised where the people have expressly
reserved to themselves in the Consti the power
of decision with respect to certain matters.
Under Art. XVI, Sec. 2 of 1973 Consti (now
Art. XVII, Sec. 3, 1987 Consti) the people
have reserved to themselves the finality of
decision with respect to approval of any
changes in the Consti.
What are the Tests of Validity of Delegation of
powers?
Two tests have been resorted to by the courts in
deciding delegation of power cases these are:
(1) The completeness or incompleteness of the
statute; and
(2) The absence or sufficiency of standard.
For a valid delegation, it is essential that the
law delegating powers must both be:
a) Complete in itself – it must set forth the
policy to be executed by the delegate;
and
b) Fix a standard – the limits of which are
sufficiently determinate or determinable
– to which the delegate must conform.
What is the “Completeness or Incompleteness of
the Statute” Test?
A law must be complete in all its terms and
provisions when it leaves the legislative branch
of gov’t.
Nothing is left to the judgment of others, or
other appointee or delegate of the
legislature.
A law is unconstitutional and deemed as an
improper delegation of legislative power where:
It is incomplete as a legislation; and
Authorizes an executive board to decide
what shall and what shall not be deemed as
an infringement of the law.
A statute is COMPLETE when the following are
stated:
(1) Subject of the law
(2) The manner of its application
(3) The extent of its operation
The test of completeness is the question of
whether the provision is sufficiently definite and
certain to enable one to know his rights and
obligations.
It is not improper delegation when the legis
already describes in the law what job must
be done, who must do it, and the scope of
his authority.
When statutes delegate discretion, is it necessarily
incomplete?
A statute is NOT necessarily incomplete and an
undue delegation of power because it delegates
discretion.
It becomes incomplete depending upon the
discretion delegated. The true distinction is
between the delegation of power:
To make the law – w/c necessarily involves
a discretion as to what the law shall be
(improper delegation)
Conferring authority – w/c involves
discretion as to the execution of the law to
be exercised under and pursuance of the law.
(valid delegation)
What is the “Absence of Sufficiency of Standard”
Test?
Even if a statute delegates authority, if it lays
down a policy and a definite standard by which
the executive or admin officer or board may be
guided in the exercise of his discretionary
authority, there is no undue delegation of
legislative power.
In order for a delegation of legislative power to
the President or any admin body or officer to be
lawful, Justice Hughes provides for three criteria
that must be met:
(1) The “policy” must be clearly defined in the
language of the statute and not left to the
discretion of the “grantee” or “delegate”
(2) The statute must pronounce “standards” to
guide the executory behavior of the delegate
or grantee; presumably, such standards
would also have the virtue of giving the
Court something to determine, upon judicial
review, whether the subordinate action was
ultra vires in relation to the law.
(3) Formal “findings” by the delegate or
grantee would be a condition precedent to a
valid exercise of such delegated authority,
assuming that the statute satisfied the above
“policy” and “standards” criteria.
The delegate must specify in his order
the facts and circumstances that justified
the action that he purported to take
under the statute delegating to him his
authority to act.
