State, Citizens and Administrative Law

Author: Dong Jiong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-12-01
Features: The relationship between administrative authorities and citizens is key to clarifying the nature and function of administrative law. It can be said that this social relationship serves as both the practical starting point and the fundamental theoretical starting point of administrative law. However, the relationship between administrative authorities and citizens is essentially a constitutional issue, as it is one aspect of the relationship between the state and citizens. Therefore, this book attempts to examine this social relationship from a broader perspective. The book adopts a state-society analytical model. First, it briefly explores the two opposing ideological tendencies that influenced the construction of modern constitutionalism in the West: liberalism and statism. It focuses on analyzing the profound impact of constitutional thought on traditional and modern administrative law theories. Second, it examines two different constitutional models, attempting to reveal the complex interplay between institutions and reality: the state and society are co-generated and develop together, and the relationship between the state and society gradually shifts from relative separation to relative integration. The decline of laissez-faire constitutionalism, the expansion of administrative functions beyond traditional boundaries, and the corresponding expansion of civil rights have contributed to the rise of administrative law within the constitutional framework. Administrative law becomes an interactive mechanism between the state and society: it restricts the excessive expansion of state power while maintaining space for the relative independent development of society. The history of the rise of Western constitutional theory and administrative legal systems provides certain references for the improvement of China's constitutional and administrative legal systems. However, the progress of China's constitutionalism must be based on its own national conditions. This book attempts to explore: the relationship between the state and citizens under the conditions of an all-powerful government, as well as the status and role of law; the transformation of the power operation model of an all-powerful government and the evolution of the relationship between administrative power and civil rights; the role that law, particularly administrative law, plays in this process. Finally, by analyzing the gap between norms and reality, it examines the shortcomings of administrative law and seeks ways to promote the sound development of the relationship between the state and citizens.