A theory of reasonableness in administrative law

Thesis

Administrative law requires that public authorities do not make decisions that are, in a particular sense, unreasonable. Yet there is remarkably little clarity about what this requirement amounts to. This thesis develops a new theoretical account of the reasonableness standard and argues that such a standard is a moral imperative in administrative law.

There are four central components to my account. The first is an organising distinction between substantive reasonableness (the reasonableness of what is decided) and deliberative reasonableness (the reasonableness of the process of reasoning leading to a decision). The second component is a conception of reasonableness as a standard of relativised justification. Substantive reasonableness, I argue, requires a decision to be justified relative to, or from the perspective of, some eligible view of the balance of reasons, where the range of eligible views reflects the court’s institutional and constitutional position, at some distance from the primary decision.

Third, I show how reasonableness requires adequate deliberation in the process of reaching a decision. Deliberative reasonableness includes requirements to gather sufficient evidence, to weigh and balance the relevant considerations, and to avoid substantial ‘structural’ irrationalities—incoherent relations between beliefs, intentions, and other attitudes.

The final component of my argument is a moral principle that places special emphasis on the idea of safeguards. In the absence of appropriate safeguards, those affected by government decisions are subjected to an unjustifiably high risk of wrongdoing, and if the state proceeds without such safeguards it manifests insufficient moral regard for those under its authority. I argue that a standard of substantive reasonableness is an appropriately general safeguard against heterogenous wrongs that might be committed in public administration. The standard of deliberative reasonableness, meanwhile, reduces the risk that government decisions are wrongful by ensuring that they proceed on the basis of sufficiently reliable reasoning.

Authors: Dindjer, H

• Type of award: DPhil
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford