Administrative Law and Administrative Procedure Law Teaching Cases

Author: Jiang Ming'an
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: By reading this book, you will gain the following benefits:
- While maintaining the integrity and systematic nature of the subject, grasp the key points, difficulties, and examination focus;
- Select typical and challenging cases to strengthen the combination of theory and practice;
- Provide accurate and scientific analysis, directly addressing contentious issues and revealing the value of exploration;
- Offer comprehensive and in-depth annotations to inspire critical thinking and enhance legal analytical skills;
- Clarify preparation needs to meet examination requirements and cultivate legal professional qualities.
Law is a practical discipline, and one of its key characteristics is that legal research must operate within the established legal framework of a country, focusing on the lawful resolution of various cases that arise in real life. Legal research that completely deviates from the existing legal norms and real-world cases is not strictly speaking "jurisprudence" or "legal hermeneutics," but rather the application of other disciplines such as philosophy, economics, or sociology in the legal field. Of course, this does not mean that the latter is without value; on the contrary, it plays a crucial role in the construction of legal rules, especially in societies undergoing social and legal transformation. However, if we acknowledge that law is a relatively independent discipline, that legal thinkers possess inherent characteristics, and that the resolution of legal practice issues cannot transcend established legal norms (including written and unwritten norms), then the study of jurisprudence cannot be overlooked and will inevitably form the mainstream of legal research.
Administrative law governs the relationship between state administrative power and private rights. Modern states are often referred to as "administrative states," and the vast domains to which state administrative power extends are vividly and accurately summarized as "from cradle to grave." Even since the 1980s, when "regulatory relaxation" reforms were implemented in countries around the world, this scenario has not fundamentally changed. The close connection between administrative power and private life, combined with the constitutional and rule-of-law principles that require legal norms to regulate administrative power, has as one consequence the constant emergence of cases involving administrative law in real life. These cases serve as a bridge connecting administrative legal norms (including rules and principles) to real-world situations.
As a case textbook on administrative law, this book aims to guide beginners in administrative law to analyze various administrative law phenomena in real society from a legal thinker's perspective. To achieve this goal, the writing of this book adheres to the following principles:
First, all cases are derived from real-life situations rather than being purely fictional. The book accurately describes case facts and court judgments to reflect the practicality and relevance of the issues analyzed, fostering an effective dialogue with court rulings. However, to ensure brevity and clarity, some case facts have been selectively edited to highlight the legal significance of the issues involved.
Second, case analysis is based on currently effective legal norms. The resolution of legal issues must occur within the framework of established legal norms, not merely from an idealized legal perspective that critiques existing norms (even if they are indeed unreasonable). Of course, this does not mean simply applying legal norms to cases. Because determining which legal principles and rules should be applied to specific cases, how to choose between conflicting norms, and how to interpret ambiguous legal provisions are all inescapable issues in legal application and are precisely the distinctive aspects of a legal thinker's perspective. Additionally, when addressing the rationality of current administrative law norms themselves, this book also proposes improvements to relevant legal norms while strictly distinguishing between current and ideal norms.
Third, the chapter structure aligns with the textbook Administrative Law and Administrative Procedure Law (edited by Jiang Ming'an, jointly published by Higher Education Press and Peking University Press). To help students systematically master the fundamental knowledge of administrative law, this book is based on a relatively authoritative textbook on administrative law. However, in terms of content, it strives to reflect the latest developments in administrative law theory, incorporating many novel concepts, principles, and issues for Chinese administrative law, such as special power relations, the principle of proportionality and the principle of trust protection, the relationship between judicial interpretations and administrative interpretations, and so on, into the analysis of administrative law norms and the resolution of administrative law cases.