Law and Administrative Discretion

Sir David Williams originally presented this paper as the inaugural lecturer for the Ralph F. Fuchs lecture series at the Indiana University School of Law on April 15, 1993. Professor Fuchs was a faculty member of the Indiana University School of Law from 1945 until his death in 1985. He was an important contributor to the drafting of the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, president of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, an active participant in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a leader of the American Association of University Professors, and a fighter for free speech and thought in academic institutions during the McCarthy era. Sir David Williams begins his paper with a brief description of the history of English administrative law, noting that it has developed more slowly as compared to administrative law in the United States. He then discusses a case at the root of English administrative law-Roberts v. Hopwood, a judgment issued in 1925. Williams proceeds to analyze administrative law development in England, including the doctrines of judicial review, control of administrative discretion, and the complementary, evolving doctrines of administrative discretion and judicial deference, as exemplified by the authoritative dissent in Liversidge v. Anderson. Williams also stresses the relationship between democratic ideals and judicial deference to the decisions of local authorities. He concludes by describing the ever-evolving nature of administrative law in England today, arguing that just as in the 1920s, the underlying approach of the courts to questions in administrative law can only be interpreted by taking into account the multitude of circumstances from which such questions arise.