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Administrative Law

Code: 101121 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Political Science and Public Management OT 3
Political Science and Public Management OT 4

Contact

Name:
José Darío Argüello Rueda
Email:
josedario.arguello@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites


There are no prerequisites to take the course


Objectives and Contextualisation

Understanding what Public Administrations are and how they operate is highly relevant and particularly useful for those seeking to work in a political environment, whether at the European, national, Catalan or local level.

This course lays the groundwork for acquiring the essential knowledge to comprehend the nature of Public Administrations, the administrative legal system, the structure of the administration, and the activities it undertakes. It also aims to provide insight into the mechanisms currently available for the legal oversight of administrative actions, as well as the changes and transformations within global administrative law and their impact on politics and governance.


Competences

    Political Science and Public Management
  • Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  • Distinguishing the discipline's main theories and different fields: conceptual developments, theoretical frameworks and theoretical approaches underlying the discipline's knowledge and different areas and sub-areas, as well as their value for the professional practice through concrete cases.
  • Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
  • Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  • Working autonomously.
  • Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Assessing the impact of the inter-administrative relationships.
  2. Critically analysing and assessing the legal elements of the relations between the political power and its citizens and generally, in the political processes.
  3. Defining the concepts of act, activity, procedure, resources and administrative guarantees.
  4. Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  5. Describing and assessing the working of the administrative organization principles.
  6. Explaining the concept and sources of the Administrative Law, as well as the laws and regulations.
  7. Explaining the concept of Constitution and basic constitutional principles and the State of Law and social and democratic state principles.
  8. Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
  9. Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  10. Working autonomously.
  11. Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.

Content

I. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

Topic 1. Political and legal foundations of Administrative Law. Concept, content, and essential features of Administrative Law. Concept of Public Administration.

Topic 2. Administrative Law as a legal system. Sources of Administrative Law: statute, custom, and general principles of law. Case law. European Law. Normative overlap between the State and Autonomous Communities.

Topic 3. Legislation. Holders of legislative power. Types of laws. Organic and ordinary laws. Governmental norms with the force of law: Royal Decree-Laws and Legislative Decrees, and their oversight mechanisms.

Topic 4. Regulations. Concept and justification of regulatory authority. Relationship between laws and regulations. The connection between regulations and administrative acts. Types of regulations: implementing, independent, and emergency-based.

 

II. ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANISATION

Topic 5. Principles of administrative organisation. Organisational authority. Administrative bodies. Competence: ownership and exercise.

Topic 6. Typology of territorial public administrations. Institutional public sector. General State Administration, Autonomous Communities, local authorities and institutional public sector: legal and political analysis of competences.

 

III. THE LEGAL POSITION OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION

Topic 7. The principle of legality in public administration. Administrative powers. Bound and discretionary powers. Techniques for limiting and controlling administrative discretion.

Topic 8. The administrative act. Concept. Categories. Legal effect of administrative acts. Validity and invalidity. Administrative silence. Enforcement of administrative acts. Means of enforcement: seizure of assets, subsidiary enforcement, coercive fines, and personal compulsion.

Topic 9. Administrative procedure. Structure of the procedure. Initiation: ex officio and by request. Instruction phase: submissions, public consultation, reports, evidence and hearing, file review. Termination of the procedure. Resolution. Types of termination, with special focus on consensual termination.

Topic 10. Administrative appeals. Concept and general principles. Types of appeals. Access to administrative courts, judicial guarantees, and protection of rights.

 

IV. ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITY

Topic 11. Administrative activity in the form of incentives, provision of public services, and regulatory intervention.

 

V. GLOBAL ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNANCE

Topic 12. Crisis of the normative paradigm and transformations in global Administrative Law: governance, soft law, decentralisation, and non-state actors.

Topic 13. Administrative Law and public policy: regulatory impact assessment, evaluation, effectiveness, and democratic legitimacy.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Theoretical classes 52.5 2.1 2, 1, 5
Type: Supervised      
Practical classes 12.5 0.5 2, 1, 4, 7, 6, 9, 11
Type: Autonomous      
Case studies and preparation cases 47 1.88 2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10
Different readings and study 18 0.72 2, 3, 7, 6, 10

At the beginning of the course, the teacher will determine the details and schedule for each of these theoretical and practical sessions.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Practical test 40% 10 0.4 2, 4, 7, 6, 9, 10, 11
Theoretical test 30% 5 0.2 1, 3, 5, 7, 6, 8
Theoretical test 30% 5 0.2 1, 3, 5, 7, 6, 8

 Continuous Assessment

The theoretical component (written or oral) accounts for 60% of the final grade, while the practical component represents the remaining 40%.

The practical part will be assessed through the submission of two case studies, which may involve bibliographic readings, presentations, or the resolution of real-life cases related to the knowledge acquired during the course.

 

Single Assessment

Students opting for single assessment will complete a final synthesis exam for the course (50%), a practical exercise (40%), and an oral defence (10%). The date of this assessment will coincide with the scheduled date of the final continuous assessment exam. The same resit procedure as for continuous assessment will apply.

 

Resit

If the student does not pass the course under the above criteria (continuous assessment, minimum 3.5 out of 10), they may take a resit exam on the scheduled date, covering the full content of the syllabus.

To be eligible for the resit, students must have been assessed in activities accounting for at least two-thirds of the overall course grade. However, the maximum grade that can be recorded in the transcript after a resit is 5 – Pass. If the student has not been assessed in at least two-thirds of the total due to non-participation, they will be marked as Not Presented and will not be eligible for the resit.

 

Assessment in Second or Subsequent Enrolments

Students must complete the required coursework, assessments and exams as scheduled and submit all course assignments via Moodle by the indicated deadlines.

 

Warnings

Without prejudice to any other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in line with current academic regulations: “If a student commits any irregularity that could significantly alter the result of an assessment activity,this activity will be marked with a zero, regardless of any disciplinary proceedings that may follow.”

Exams and assessments may be written and/or oral, at the discretion of the teaching staff.

At the time of each assessment, students will be informed of the mechanisms for grade review. For single-assessment students, the review procedure will be the same.

In the event of unforeseen circumstances that hinder the normal progress of the course, the teaching staff may modify both the methodology and the assessment system as necessary.

 

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The use of AI technologies is permitted in this course as part of the development of coursework, provided the final output clearly reflects the student’s own analytical and reflective contribution. Students must clearly indicate which parts have been generated using AI, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced both the process and the final outcome. Failure to transparently declare the use of AI will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in a penalty in the assessment grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.


Bibliography

The professor will specify which lectures are recommended for the various sessions.
										
											
										
											 
										
											In general, the¡ manuals (handbooks)  that are recommended for this subject are:
  • Gamero, Eduardo, Fernández, Severiano: "Manual básico de derecho administrativo". Ed. Tecnos, 20ª ed., 2023. 
  • García de Enterría, Eduardo y Fernández, Tomás Ramón: Curso de derecho administrativo. Ed. 20ª. Civitas. 2022.
  • Parejo Alfonso, Luciano: Lecciones de Derecho administrativo, Ed. 13. Tirant lo Blanch. Valencia, 2024.
  • Rebollo Puig, Manuel. y Vera Jurado, Diego: Derecho Administrativo. Tomo II. Régimen Jurídico básico y control de la administración. Madrid, Tecnos, Ed. 5. 2023.
  • Sánchez Morón, Miguel: Derecho administrativo: parte general. Ed. 19. Tecnos. Madrid, 2023. 
  • Trayter, Joan  Manel; Derecho administrativo . Parte general.  Ed Atelier, 2020.
  • Palomar, Alberto y Fuertes, Javier: Práctico contencioso-administrativo. Vlex España (2020). Disponible  biblioteca digital UAB.
 

Software

This course does not require any specific software


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 51 Catalan/Spanish second semester afternoon
(TE) Theory 51 Catalan/Spanish second semester afternoon