Administrative Agencies

One other source of laws apart from constitutions, judicial decisions and the statutes or ordinances passed by federal state and local legislatures the decisions and rulings of administrative agencies. By administrative agencies we mean the whole range from old-line governmental departments like the departments of State, Treasury and Labor, through the newer federal regulatory agencies like the Federal Communications Commission, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Food and Drug Administration, to the state department of education and department of motor vehicles, and the purely local offices such as the city health department and police department.

In general the courts are reluctant to interfere with the operations and rulings of these governmental departments. As an example, despite all the hue and cry over the U.S. Department of State's refusal to validate U.S. passports for travel in certain countries, the courts have refused to order the department to do so. The courts will not intervene unless there is convincing evidence that a governmental agency is acting arbitrarily or unreasonably In decision after decision in cases involving administrative action or inaction, the courts express the opinion that they don't know the reasons for what the agency is doing or not doing and therefore decline to force an administrator's hand.

A classic legal remedy called a writ of mandamus (from the Latin word meaning "we command") was used long ago to compel administrative action. Usually, however, American courts issue a writ of mandamus to compel routine action where there seems to be no good reason for its not being taken. The public election official who, from sheer spite, declines to issue a certificate of election to the obvious winner might be compelled to do so by the courts in response to a plea for a writ of mandamus. But it is extremely doubtful that the Securities and Exchange Commission would be ordered, by a writ of mandamus, to approve a particular issue of common stock by a corporation. The court would probably say that the approval or disapproval of stock issues is exactly what the Securities and Exchange Commission was created to do and that the courts have no business substituting their uninformed judgment for the expert knowledge of the members and staff of the commission Some of these governmental departments and agencies, particularly the regulatory agencies, do make what amount to laws or issue instructions that have the effect of laws. The Securities and Exchange Commission regulates the securities markets, such as the stock exchanges, by issuing rules that can result in heavy penalties if they are violated. The Food and Drug Administration can require drug manufacturers to put labels on their products warning the public against their misuse or even their use the Department of Agriculture tightly controls how much of what farm products may be sold. State highway departments have wide authority for the control of speed on the highways and the licensing of operators of motor vehicles of all kinds. State public utility commissions set the rates that may be charged by telephone companies and by power and light companies.

UNIT 6 CLASSIFICATION OF CRIMES

LESSON 19

1. Grammar and Practice:	Mixed Conditionals
2. Topic Activities:	What a Crime is
3. Speaking:	The Interview
4. Supplementary reading:	What a Tort is and how it differs from a Crime

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14