2011

Nik Munirah Nik Fuad

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
LAW506
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Name: Nik Munirah Binti Nik Fuad Matrik No.: 2009135657 Course Code: LW213 Group: LWB03C Prepared For: Pn. Noraini

[ASSIGNMENT]
QUESTIONS: 1. State the reasons for the growth of Administrative Tribunals and the advantages and disadvantages of Administrative Tribunals as compared to the system of Ordinary Courts 2. Discuss the legal features of public corporations and to what extent the Judicial Control is effective in reviewing the decisions made by public corporations.

QUESTION 1 State the reasons for the growth of Administrative Tribunals and the advantages and disadvantages of Administrative Tribunals as compared to the system of Ordinary Courts. 1.1 Introduction Courts powers are actually to adjudicate the disputes between two parties let it be between individuals or even between the individual and government. However, days to days, states have developed to modern countries and there have been an increasing in the functions of the government. Therefore, the government has to lend enormous powers to the executive which then lead to the increase of legislative powers. A number of bodies have been established by statutes outside the judicial system that plays the function of courts. This bodies, known as Administrative Tribunals will decide those disputes from a mini dispute to the largest one which arise from the society. These tribunals also manned by technical experts, with flexibility in operations, informality in procedures unlike the Ordinary Courts1. 1.2 Reasons for Growth There are many reasons for the growth of Administrative Tribunals which are expansion in function and responsibilities of the administration, procedure in court and question of expertise. Firstly, since the country had become modern, there are a lot of new things that need to be developed and handled by the government. The ordinary law courts are not be able to cope up with the workload as in there are rapid growth and expansion of industries, trade and commerce which had arise many disputes which cause in the delay in deciding cases. Therefore, administrative tribunals which vary in the jurisdiction and experts have been established in the country which can do work more rapidly and more efficiently than the ordinary courts. Secondly, the procedure in the court is very tardy, formal, rigid and expensive 2. Ordinary judges, brought up in the traditions of law and jurisprudence are not capable enough to understand the technical problems, elaborate rules of procedure and evidence which crop up in the wake of modem complex economic and social processes .
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Jain, M.P. (1997). Administrative Law of Malaysia and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur. MLJ Sdn. Bhd. Jain, M.P. (1997). Administrative Law of Malaysia and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur. MLJ Sdn. Bhd.

And these matters can possibly be achieved in a tribunal system. Only administrators having expert knowledge can tackle such problems judiciously which the Administrative Tribunals can provide.

Thirdly, there are situations or disputes which may need a quick solution, action and decisions such as ensuring the safety measures in local mines, prevention of illegal transactions in foreign exchange and unfair business practices necessitate prompt action. Such cases if not be taken action quickly, will seems to jeopardized the interest of the people and also would cause vast loss to the state exchequer and undermine national interest. However, the administrative courts presided over by the experts would ensure prompt and fair action 3.

1.3 The advantages of the Administrative Tribunals

The Tribunals have many advantages and benefits rather than the ordinary courts.

The first one is with regards to the flexibility. The Administrative adjudication has brought flexibility and adaptability in the judicial as well as administrative tribunals. Because of the rapidly changing social conditions in the society, they exhibit such a good deal of conservatism and inelasticity. Their adjudication also not have been contro l by rigid rules of procedure and they can change variably according to the needs of the society unlike the ordinary courts which only follows the formality and have to follow the rigid rules.

Second, there is an adequate justice that that the Administrat ive Tribunals offer compared to the Ordinary Courts. In this fast moving world today, the Administrative Tribunals have been seen as the most appropriate and effective place in the matters to be given fair justice. This is because the lawyers are just conc ern about the law and it is not adequate to assess the needs of modern welfare society and to locate the individuals place in it.

Third, the process involved in the Administrative Tribunals is cheap and quick as compared to the ordinary law courts. The pr ocedure in the law courts
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/39458125/Administrative-Tribunal

is long and costly as it involves payment of huge court fess, appointment with the lawyers and also meeting of other accidental charges that can increase suddenly out of nowhere without we notice it. By hook or by crook, we have t o bear with it if we want to have justice in the ordinary courts. However, the procedures in the Administrative Tribunals usually require no stamp fees, very simple and can be easily digested by a layman.

Fourth, this system gives the relief to the ordin ary courts as they also indeed very need it as the ordinary courts have been overburdened with ordinary suits or disputes.

The last one is that in the Administrative Tribunals, there can be possibility of experimentation as the practical experience gained in the working of any particular authority can be more easily used by amendments of laws, rules and regulations because amendment of laws relating to courts has to undergo many stages and process.

Therefore it shows that Administrative Tribunals has many advantages as compared to the Ordinary courts.

1.4 Disadvantages of Administrative Tribunals

Despite the advantages of the Administrative tribunals, these tribunals also have some defects and disadvantages as compared to the Ordinary Courts.

The first one is that there is no legal presentation allowed in some tribunal. Therefore, it is hard for a person to bring defend to his case because of their lack of knowledge in that matters. And this is related to the negation of Rule of Law. As we know, the Rule of Law really highlights the equality before law for everybody and the supremacy of ordinary law and due to the procedure of law over governmental arbitrariness. But in the Administrative Tribunals, they separate the laws and procedures and therefore will lead to the arbitrariness.

Second, legal aid is not available in tribunal which violates the right of the citizens who is not able to bring his case alone. Therefore, his justice is not upheld unlike in the ordinary courts 4.

Third, the membership of the tribunals is normally appointed by the minister. In some cases, the minister who has the power to appoint will also hear the case, as he is the chairman of the hearing. Also, there is no requirement on the chairman to give reason for his decisions. Therefore, this is not according to the natural justice a s it does not ignore the principles and this may lead to the bias. Fourth, the administrative tribunals often hold summary trials and do not follow the precedent. Therefore, it is hard for us to determ ine or predict what are the decisions or the outcome of the disputes.

Lastly, the administrative tribunals are controlled by administrators and technical heads that may not have any background in law or judicial work 5. Consequently, they may not possess the independent outlook of a judge.

1.5 Conclusion

Our rapid growth country need the Administrative Tribunals in helping the government to govern the country and helping the ordinary courts to settle various kinds of disputes despite the facts that they also have some defects. However, those defects can be overcome by the safeguards that can go to mitigate and lessen the disadvantages of Administrative Tribunals. Therefore, it is very important for our country to have these tribunals and maintain it.

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Jain, M.P. (1997). Administrative Law of Malaysia and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur. MLJ Sdn. Bhd. http://www.scribd.com/doc/39458125/Administrative-Tribunal