Administrative law affects our lives in numerous ways. Administrative law comes into play at any point where a government agency steps in to alter the legal rights of citizens, corporations, or other entities.1 It influences the formation of rules that govern everything from food labels to public benefits to nuclear waste disposal.
Administrative law refers generally to the laws and legal principles governing the creation, administration, and regulation of government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. It is essentially ―the powers granted to administrative agencies, the substantive rules that such agencies make, and the legal relationship between such agencies, other government bodies, and the public at large. Federal, state, and local agencies are granted their power by Congress, state legislatures, or city councils, through statutory law under which regulations are then promulgated. In other words, it is the job of federal, state, or local legislative bodies to come up with statutory law (which is inherently abstract and general), following which the pertinent agencies promulgate more specific and pragmatic regulations. Government agencies must draft and execute their regulations without stepping outside of Constitutional parameters or statutory law.