Abstract
Quangos are not specifically mentioned in the German Constitution, nor can the term be found directly in the administrative acts of the Federal government and its states. Textbooks and law journal articles on Administrative or Constitutional Law very rarely mention Quangos.1 Are Quangos therefore an unknown species in German Public Law? Compared to Germany, the picture in the United Kingdom seems to be totally different. It is said that there are hundreds, if not thousands of Quangos within the British Government. It is therefore not surprising that the term „Quangos“ — short for quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations — was invented in the United Kingdom. At first, “non-governmental” was understood in a literal sense and restricted to private organizations. Nowadays, Quangos are seen as part of the government in a broad sense (e.g. in terms of funding, appointment and function), yet hold an independent status within the governmental structure to a greater or lesser extent. Therefore, “non-governmental” is typically defined as “non-ministerial” or “non-departmental”, and the term Non-Departmental Public Bodies is more often used to describe the phenomenon of independent administrative organizations or agencies.2
The author thanks stud. iur. Karen Andress for her expert language assistance.
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References
One of the few exceptions is G.F. Schuppert, „Quangos“ als Trabanten des Verwaltungssystems, Die Öffentliche Verwaltung 1981, 153.
For a list of Non-Departmental Public Bodies see the document of the Cabinet Office “Public Bodies 2005” (〈http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk〉; see also 〈http://www.civilservice.gov.uk〉). P. Cane, Administrative Law, 4th ed., 2004, 421, notes that the “activities of these bodies typically fall outside the scope of the doctrine of ministerial responsibility”. F.F. Ridley, Die Wiedererfindung des Staates — Reinventing British Government, Die Öffentliche Verwaltung 1995, 569, at 576 states that it is not possible to translate terms (like Quangos) that describe the structure of the British Government.
See M. Nierhaus, in: Kommentar zum Bonner Grundgesetz, Art. 80 I/85.
For a description of the structure of the German Administration see W. Kluth, in: Wolff /Bachof /Stober, Verwaltungsrecht III, 5th ed., 2004, 1 et seq.
The enactment of ordinances and charters has to be distinguished from internal administrative regulations (Verwaltungsvorschriften), which are basically instructions from superior administrative agencies to lower ones. They constitute the so-called “internal administrative law”, meaning that they develop no external legal effect on citizens. However, it must be noted that the field of environmental law provides exceptions to this rule (R. Sparwasser/R. Engel/A. Vosskuhle, Umweltrecht, 5th ed., 2003, 59) which can often lead to increasingly complicated distinctions and the danger of form misuse (M. Nierhaus, in: Kommentar zum Bonner Grundgesetz, Art. 80 I/153 et seq.).
Concerning the Ethics commissions in general see K. Sobota, Die Ethik-Kommission — Ein neues Instrument des Verwaltungsrechts?, Archiv des öffentlichen Rechts 121 (1996), 229 et seq.
H. Dreier, Hierarchische Verwaltung im demokratischen Staat, 1991, 246 et seq.
P. Lerche, in: Maunz /Dürig, Grundgesetz V, Art. 87/184; M. Jestaedt, in: Umbach/Clemens, Grundgesetz II, 2002, Art. 87/102; M. Burgi, in: v. Mangoldt/Klein/Starck, Das Bonner Grundgesetz III, 4th ed., 2001, Art. 87/127.
Cf. also BVerfGE 83, 130, at 150.
For more examples see H. Dreier, Hierarchische Verwaltung im demokratischen Staat, 1991, 247.
The question whether the secondary delegate must specifically be mentioned in the law which allows the sub-delegation is highly disputed (see M. Nierhaus, in: Kommentar zum Bonner Grundgesetz, Art. 80 I/258; M. Brenner, in: v. Mangoldt/Klein/Starck, Das Bonner Grundgesetz III, 4th ed., 2001, Art. 80/53, 54).
M. Sachs, in: Sachs, Grundgesetz, 3rd ed., 2003, Art. 80/32; M. Brenner, in: v. Mangoldt/Klein/Starck, Das Bonner Grundgesetz III, 4th ed., 2001, Art. 80/55.
See M. Nierhaus, in: Kommentar zum Bonner Grundgesetz, Art. 80 I/60.
In detail regarding the relationship between Art. 80 I 2 GG and the Parlamentsvorbehalt: M. Nierhaus, in: Kommentar zum Bonner Grundgesetz, Art. 80 I/89 et seq.
See BVerfGE 40, 237, 249; BVerfGE 58, 257, 268 et seq.; BVerfGE 61, 260, at 275; BVerfGE 77, 170, at 230; F. Oßenbühl, in: Isensee/Kirchhof, Handbuch des Staatsrechts, Bd. III, 2. Aufl., § 62 Rdnr. 41 et seq.
The possibility of private entities being designated sub-delegates is usually discarded because Art. 80 GG merely rules the delegation of rule-making authority between the legislative and executive branches (M. Nierhaus, in: Kommentar zum Bonner Grundgesetz, Art. 80 I/259; M. Brenner, in: v. Mangoldt/Klein/Starck, Das Bonner Grundgesetz III, 4th ed., 2001, Art. 80/55). And the power to ißue charters is restricted to the self-administering entities (M. Nierhaus, in: Kommentar zum Bonner Grundgesetz, Art. 80 I/259).
This is questioned by W. Kluth, Funktionale Selbstverwaltung, 1997, 504 et seq.
BGBl. I 2002, 1310.
W. Kluth, in: Wolff /Bachof /Stober, Verwaltungsrecht III, 5th ed., 2004, 380.
H. Dreier, Hierarchische Verwaltung im demokratischen Staat, 1991, 243 et seq.; see also W. Kluth, in: Wolff/Bachof/Stober, Verwaltungsrecht III, 5th ed., 2004, 362.
H. Dreier, Hierarchische Verwaltung im demokratischen Staat, 1991, 240 et seq.; W. Kluth, in: Wolff/Bachof/Stober, Verwaltungsrecht III, 5th ed., 2004, 362 et seq.
See BVerfGE 57, 295, at 319 et seq.; BVerfGE 73, 118, at 152 et seq.; also T. Grosß, Das Kollegialprinzip in der Verwaltungsorganisation, 1999, 210 et seq.
W. Kluth, in: Wolff /Bachof /Stober, Verwaltungsrecht III, 5th ed., 2004, 331.
W. Kluth, in: Wolff /Bachof /Stober, Verwaltungsrecht III, 5th ed., 2004, 331.
K. Stern, Das Staatsrecht der Bundesrepublik Deutschland II, 279.
BVerfGE 9, 268, at 279 et seq. on instructionless spheres within personal representations; BVerfGE 83, 130, at 150 on the liberation from instructions in the case of the Federal Inspection and Rating Agency on Youth-endangering Publications. See also BVerwG, NJW 1973, 865, at 865.
The literature often demands stricter requirements for the independisation process and will only admit such independisations if such a process is essential to the respective issue at hand, or if there are significant objective reasons in its favour, see K. Stern, Das Staatsrecht der Bundesrepublik Deutschland II, 279; P. Lerche, in: Maunz/Dürig, Grundgesetz V, Art. 86/70; less critical G.F. Schuppert, Die Öffentliche Verwaltung 1981, 153, at 158. Extensive on this topic: W. Müller, Ministerialfreie Räume, Juristische Schulung 1985, 497 et seq.
BVerfGE 107, 59, at 87; BVerfGE 83, at 60, 71, 73.
BVerfGE 83, 60, at 71 et seq.
In BVerfGE 83, 60, at 72 and BVerfGE 106, 64, at 74 the court states that a certain level of legitimation is necessary.
T. Puhl, in: Isensee /Kirchhof, Handbuch des Staatsrechts III, 3rd ed., 2005, § 48/44.
BVerfGE 83, 130, at 150. On page 149, the court states that the appointment of the members of the Federal Inspection and Rating Agency on Youth-endangering Publications by the competent minister leads to a democratic legitimation. See also BVerfGE 106, 64, at 73.
BVerfGE 9, 268, at 282.
BVerfGE 83, 60, at 74.
W. Kluth, Funktionale Selbstverwaltung, 1997, 369 et seq.; M. Burgi, in: Erichsen/Ehlers, Allgemeines Verwaltungsrecht, 12th ed., 2002, § 52/25; but see also H. Dreier, Hierarchische Verwaltung im demokratischen Staat, 1991, 274 et seq., BVerfGE 83, 60, at 75 and BVerfGE 106, 64, at 77.
BVerfGE 83, 60, at 74.
H. Dreier, Hierarchische Verwaltung im demokratischen Staat, 1991, 285 et seq., who also states that the law of parliament has to provide organisational, procedural and substantive standards for independent administrative authorities and their decision-making process; see also P. Lerche, in: Maunz/Dürig, Grundgesetz V, Art. 86/70, T. Groß, Das Kollegialprinzip in der Verwaltungsorganisation, 1999, 240 et seq. and a recent decision of the Federal Constitutional Court in BVerfGE 111, 191, at 216 et seq.
Regulation (EEC) No. 1210/90 dated May 7, 1990. Other examples of agencies are contained in the Communication from the Commission entitled “The operating framework for European Regulatory Agencies”, COM (2002) 718 final, 3, footnote 3.
COM (2002) 718 final.
Communication from the Commission, COM (2002) 718 final, 4. Furthermore, the Commission notes that all agencies have legal personality and all have a certain degree of organisational and financial autonomy (COM (2002) 718 final, 3, 7).
European Court of Justice, vol. V (1958), 11 et seq. and 53 et seq.
European Court of Justice, vol. V (1958), 11, at 40.
European Court of Justice, vol. V (1958), 11, at 42.
European Court of Justice, vol. V (1958), 11, at 44.
Cf. European Court of Justice, vol. V (1958), 11, at 40.
European Court of Justice, vol. V (1958), 11, at 43 et seq.
Cf. M. Berger, Vertraglich nicht vorgesehene Einrichtungen des Gemeinschaftsrechts mit eigener Rechtspersönlichkeit, 1999, 84 et seq.
C.D. Ehlermann, EuR 1973, 194, at 198.
European Court of Justice, vol. V (1958), 11, at 46.
Cf. M. Berger, Vertraglich nicht vorgesehene Einrichtungen des Gemeinschaftsrechts mit eigener Rechtspersönlichkeit, 1999, 88 et seq.
A.C. Aman/W.T. Mayton, Administrative Law, 1998, cover in Part One, pages 7 to 118, the legislative power in agencies.
See Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361, at 368 et seq. (1989). Earlier decisions include: United States v. Rock Royal Co-op., Inc., 307 U.S. 533 (1939); Yakus v. United States, 321 U.S. 414 (1944); Arizona v. California, 373 U.S. 546 (1963).
293 U.S. 388 (1935). Another example is A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935).
293 U.S. 388, 440 (1935).
Industrial Union Dept., AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute, 448 U.S. 607, 685 et seq. (1980).
373 U.S. 546, at 626 (1963).
415 U.S. 336, at 342 (1974).
Note that charters — which are to be seen as deduced legal sources — also require at least a general legitimate authorisation. Note also that Art. 80 GG does not apply to charter enactments (BVerfGE 21, 54, at 62; 49, 343, at 362).
Communication from the Commission, COM (2002) 718 final, 8: “These agencies may, for example, be empowered to adopt individual decisions in a clearly specified area of Community legislation but not legislative measures of general application, although their decision-making practices might result in codifying certain standards”.
For a discussion of the legal aspects of the implementing legislation of the EC: H.-W. Rengeling, What participation rights do substance manufacturers have in relation to the adoption of EU rules relating to substances? — Summary —, 2002.
Cf. the above mentioned Meroni rulings (European Court of Justice, vol. V (1958), 11, at 43 et seq.), and also the Communication from the Commission, COM (2002) 718 final, 5 et seq.
This does not mean that administrative agencies are conceded limitless rule-making powers which they can freely dispose of. The U.S. legal system also contains approaches which limit rule-making power, as manifested in the Benzene Case ruled by the Supreme Court: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration tried to reduce carcinogens in the workplace by an extensive interpretation in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, but the Supreme Court narrowed the competences of the Administration down; Industrial Union Dept., AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute, 448 U.S. 607, at 646 (1980): “If the Act had not required that the risk from a toxic substance be quantified sufficiently to enable the Secretary to characterize it as significant in an understandable way, the statute would make such a “sweeping delegation of legislative power” that it might be unconstitutional”. Furthermore, an agency has always to show that it “has … genuinely engaged in reasoned decision-making” (Greater Boston Television Corp. v. FCC, 444 F.2d 841, at 851 (D.C. Cir. 1970)).
It is worth mentioning that the German law doesn’t have a numerus clausus of legal forms of administrative bodies (W. Kluth, in: Wolff / Bachof / Stober, Verwaltungsrecht III, 5th ed., 2004, 243). Concerning Art. 87 III GG it is disputed whether this provision contains an exclusive list of organisational forms (see M. Jestaedt, in: Umbach/Clemens, Grundgesetz II, 2002, Art. 87 Rdnr. 106).
In Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361, at 368 et seq. (1989), the Supreme cCourt explains that “in our increasingly complex society, replete with cever changing and more technical problems, Congress simply cannot do its job cabsent an ability to delegate power under broad general directives”.
Communication from the Commission, COM (2002) 718 final, 5, at 8.
Communication from the Commission, COM (2002) 718 final, 5; see also T. Groß, Das Kollegialprinzip in der Verwaltungsorganisation, 1999, 152.
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) provides that “the agency shall give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making through submission of written data, views, or arguments …” (5 U.S.C.A. § 553(c)). The participation of private law entities especially becomes evident in the field of negotiated rule-making; on that topic see the Negotiated Rulemaking Act (5 U.S.C.A. §§ 563–570) and S. Schnöckel, “Negotiated Rulemaking” in den USA und normvertretende Absprachen in Deutschland, 2005.
G.F. Schuppert, Die Öffentliche Verwaltung 1981, 153, 159; cf. also T. Puhl, in: J. Isensee/P. Kirchhof, Handbuch des Staatsrechts III, § 48/45.
Communication from the Commission, COM (2002) 718 final, 5.
Communication from the Commission, COM (2002) 718 final, 13.
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Fischer, K. (2006). Quangos — An Unknown Species in German Public Law? German Report on the Rulemaking Power of Independent Administrative Agencies. In: Riedel, E., Wolfrum, R. (eds) Recent Trends in German and European Constitutional Law. Beiträge zum ausländischen öffentlichen Recht und Völkerrecht, vol 188. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-37720-7_6
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