Administrative law aims to protect citizens from abuse of governmental power through checks and balances on governmental authority. It defines the limits of governmental power and ensures authorities use power properly and efficiently. Administrative law establishes procedures authorities must follow and remedies for citizens against illegal acts. It governs both exercise and control of administrative power.

1. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
DEFINING ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Before one proceeds to define Administrative Law, it should be keptin mind that to provide an accurate
and exact definition of Administrative Law is probably considered impossible due to the subject’s
complex and thorough nature. However, various efforts have been made to provide a working definition
of Administrative Law. Furthermore, another thing, which the reader ought to consider, is that these
definitions have alwaysbeenbasedonthe writer’s ownview andexperiences of Administrative Law.
Maitland
Maitlanddefines the subjectasthe one “dealingwiththe functions of publicbodies”.
Cane & McDonald
The definition of Administrative Law isdivided intotwocomponents:
“Any individual oranyinstitution shouldnotbe allowed toholdexcessive ortoomuchpower:
Those whoexercise powers shouldbe subjecttosome sortof external checks”.
Felix Frankfurter
Administrative Law is that body of law that deals “with the field of legal control exercised by the law –
administering agencies other than courts, and the field of control exercised by courts over such
agencies”.
Black’s Law Dictionary
The subject of Administrative Law is the “law governing the organisation and operation of administrative
agencies (including executive and independent agencies) and the relations of administrative agencies
withthe legislature, judiciary andthe public”.
Ivor Jennings
It isthe law “relatingtoadministration. Itdetermines the organisation, powers anddutiesof
administrativeauthorities”.tt
Davis
The Administrativelawis alawthat concernsthe powerandprocedure of the Administrationagencies,
especially the lawgoverningjudicial review of administrativeaction
Dicey British Constitutional Scholar

2. Portionof a nationlegal system whichdetermineslegalstatusandliabilitiesof all state officialsand
liabilitiesof private individualsintheirdealingwithofficials.
William Wade
He defines the subjectinthe followingmanner:
Administrative law is that body of law that deals with the supervision of governmental power. This is
precisely how the lawyers view this subject. Here, the governmental power is not that power which is
related to the Parliament but it is actually the powers exercised by the public bodies. In this context, the
powerspossess twounique attributesorcharacteristics:
The first attribute is that these powers are all subject to legal limitations or restrictions because there is
no concept of unfettered and absolute discretionary power. Had there been a concept of unfettered and
absolute discretionary power, the obvious resultwould be the abuse of power.
The second attribute, which unavoidably follows from the first, is that any power is capable of being
abused. For example, where a public authority has been granted the power to do any act as it sees fit,
the courts of law would declare that act to be a nullity in the eyes of law if it violates the principles of
natural justice. Another instance where the court would quash the act is the case when the act so done
exceeds the restrictions orlimitations setuponit.
Another way of defining administrative law, according to Wade, is to say that this body is comprised of
those principles or rules that administer the exercise of powers and duties of the public authorities. In
this perspective, this body of law deals with both the functions and the structure of public authorities.
However, the scope of the subject at present excludes the structure of the public authorities. The
present subject matter only deals with the manner in which those powers are exercised by public
authorities. For example, a principle of administrative law is to be followed where a person is being
dismissed from a public office, where his house is being pulled down, where his licence to carry out a
profession isbeingcancelled, etc.
In summary, the operation and control of administrative authorities being the chief purpose of
administrativelaw, the subjectdealswiththe followingquestions:
What sort of powers doesthe administration exercise?
What are the limitsof suchpowers?
What procedures does ithave tofollow inthe exerciseof those powers?
What are the waysin whichthe administration iskeptwithinthe above limits?and
What remedies are available tothe individualagainstthe illegal actionsof the administration?

3. PURPOSE OF THE SUBJECT
In the light of the above-mentioned definitions, particularly Wade’s definition of administrative law, it
becomes extremely vital to discuss the purpose of the subject at hand. The purpose of administrative
law is to protect the common citizen from the abuse of governmental power by employing a system of
checks and balances by defining the bounds to which the governmental authorities have to confine
themselves. Given the current background, it then also becomes necessary to determine what “abuse”
means. Abuse does not necessarily mean that there is an element of bad faith or malafide involved. On
many occasions, what comes about is that the governmental or public authorities make an error in
understanding their legal position and easily misinterpret the laws that they have to administer. It is for
that reason that it becomes vital to adopt a system, which is able to supervise these powers and their
abuse.
Furthermore, under the same head, another aim of administrative law is to ensure that the
governmental authorities carry out their functions efficiently. In cases of the authorities’ failure to carry
out their functions, it is also the goal of administrative law to coerce them into performance of their
duties. Thus, this body of law is responsible for dealing with both the positive and negative sides of
maladministration.
In addition, the spiritof administrative law revolves aroundthe judge-maderuleswhichare applicable
on the publicauthorities andwhich, accordingly, setthe guidelines thatthe governmental bodies have
to abide by.