Legislative control over administrative actions during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

1. I’ll directly move to the issue at hand. In the covid 19 pandemic, the functioning of all
branches was hindered, courts are functioning at reduced capacity and are only hearing
‘urgent matters’ on their discretion or moved online , the Parliament has been
adjourned sine die in mid-session and the administrative powers were governed by the
ordinances.
2. The need/urgency to exercise legislative control over administrative actions in the covid
pandemic are as below-
• Emergency Situation- Quick action was needed as this virus has now caused a global
pandemic which was the major concern for every authority around the globe when the
virus was first reported.
• Pressure on Parliamentary time- This virus has now affected every country and only a
few have been able to handle the situation very well. To tackle such situations, there was
not enough time for the government to think upon and act accordingly. The decisions
were taken in a haste in order to contain and avoid the spread of the virus.
• Lack of expertise- It can not be expected by the Parliament's members to tackle such
situations as these situations are very critical in nature so the people who are expert in
handling these situations should probably look after it.
Coming to the conclusion, the situation of COVID-19 is an emergency situation which
no one was prepared for and India had no laws made for a such a condition so it was
required to take quick decisions for which delegated legislation is the best way to deal
with it.
3. Legislative control over the administrative actions can be observed through the control
delegated legislation

4. The “central” government, has invoked the Disaster Management Act of 2005 (DMA),

while the several state governments have invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act of
1897 (EDA). Both laws contain broad umbrella clauses that allow the central and state
governments to take any measure they deem necessary to address a disaster or epidemic.
 both the DMA and EDA delegates substantial discretionary power to the government to
make administrative decisions on its behalf.
5. In the DMA Act, certain anomalies was observed, One of the major issues with the DMA
is whether epidemic or pandemic can be considered “disaster” as per its definition.
Section 2(d) of the DMA States that: “Disaster means a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or
grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man‐made causes, or by accident or
negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and
destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a
nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected
area.” One can interpret that a health emergency of the kind created by the COVID ‐19
pandemic falls under “grave concerns,” but such interpretation will not serve any purpose
in effectively managing the epidemic. Such was neglected due to the nascency of the
situation
6. The Section 10 and Section 62 of the Disaster Management Act, 1995 gives the central
govt. to lay down guidelines for, or give directions to, the concerned Ministries or
Departments of the Government of India, the State Governments and the State Authorities
regarding measures to be taken by them in response to any threatening disaster situation
or disaster.” And hence, a national lockdown was imposed under this.
7. From the administrative law standpoint, the DMA thus delegates and empowers to sub-
delegate a wide range of policy making and planning powers to the disaster management
authorities and implementation, coordination, monitoring and directing powers to the
central government and the national and state executive councils.

8. Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 (“EDA”)

9. Although more oriented towards the present crisis, the EDA is a colonial era legislation,
only 4 sections long. Yet the Act provides significant power to the executive for the
purpose of “better prevention of the spread of dangerous epidemic disease”.
10. Section 2 of the Act empowers the state government to “prescribe such temporary
regulations to be observed by the public or by any person or class of persons as it shall
deem necessary to prevent the outbreak of such disease”.
11. Starting with Karnataka, states like Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh
have enacted their own regulations enforcing quarantine measures.
12. The 1897 Act, however, does not outline procedure, or provide for any safeguards,
regarding the manner in which powers can be exercised by implementing officers,
 protection of rights of those affected, expert committees, scientific rationale behind the
measures etc. It also does not take into account comprehensive relief measures like
treatment, vaccination and compensation
13. In the wake of Covid-19, certain amendments were made to the EDA at both the national
level and state level. At the national level, the EDA was first amended through an
ordinance This amendment criminalised acts that cause damage or loss to property and
acts of violence upon healthcare workers.
14. (The ordinance amended section 3 of the EDA. If anyone causes damage or loss to
the property, then they may be punished with “imprisonment for a term of 3 months
to 5 years and with a fine of Rs. 50,000/‐ to Rs. 200,000/‐.” In case of violence and
physical attack on health care workers, they can be imprisoned “for a term of 6
months to 7 years and with a fine of Rs. 100,000/‐ to Rs. 500,000/.” In addition, “the
offender shall also be liable to pay compensation to the victim and twice the fair
market value for damage of property.”)
15. In addition, certain state governments such as the governments of Telengana and
Karnataka, issued regulations under the EDA providing for institutional structures to
contain Covid-19 (Gowd et al, 2021).
16. The Odisha State government has brought in another ordinance, which provides that any
person violating the epidemic regulation shall be imprisoned for a period of 2 years and
given a fine of Rs. 10,000 (The Economic Times, 2020). This, therefore, replaces section
3 of the main act, which provides only for imprisonment to a maximum of 6 months and a
fine of Rs. 1000. (The ordinance is normally issued by the elected executive when the
State Assembly is not in session. Hence, the state governments had implemented the
Odisha COVID‐19 Regulations, 2020, using the main act.)
17. The SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS THIS FORM OF LEGISLATIVE CONTROL
THROUGH DELAGATED LEGISLATION- The SC through a number of PILs raised in
the Delhi high court(regarding initially imposing restrictions, phased relaxation, etc., cites
the judgment of  State of M.P. v. Bhola, “where the enabling Act itself permits ancillary
and subsidiary functions of the legislature to be performed by the executive, the delegated
legislation cannot be held to be in violation of the enabling Act.” As discussed earlier,
both the DMA and EDA delegates substantial discretionary power to the government to
make administrative decisions on its behalf . It also Lauds the efforts of the HIGH
COURTS WHO FOLLOW THE SAME.
18. Conclusion
Administrative laws ensures that ‘rule of law’ prevails despite the presence of
discretionary powers vested in the administrators while ensuing there is no arbitrary
exercise of law. Though the legislative control over administrative actions was exercised
in a broader sense than its expectation, due to the nascency and the need to address the
constraints quickly.
INDIA IS A COUNTRY RUNNED BY TECHNICALITIES, NOT LOGIC/PRACTICALLITY.
2) Role of administrative authorities in combating environmental challenges.

The quest for economic development, technological advancement, industrialization, globalization

and urbanization has jeopardized the ecological balance of the globe and it strikes at the root of the
existence of the life itself.It constrained the states to change its priorities and to devise policies for
the protection of its environment. The development of international environmental legal framework
during 1970s laid the foundation of environmental jurisprudence of many countries. On the basis of
the international environmental conferences and declarations, environmental laws wereenacted in
consenting nations. In India also a number of environmental legislations were enacted after the
Stockholm conference of 1972.

Hon’ble Justices B.N. Kirpal, Kuldip Singh and S. Saghir Ahmad observed that 1 “If the mere
enactment of the laws relating to the protection of environment was to ensure a clean and
pollution-free environment, then India would, perhaps, be the least polluted country in the world.
But, this is not so”.

Central Government and state governments have their own ministries on environment and for the
enforcement of Water Act2 , Air Act3 and EPAct4 , CPCB and SPCBs were constituted. For the
purpose of environmental clearance decision making, Ministry of Environment and Forests (For
Category A Projects 5 ) and State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAA) in the
states (For Category B Projects6 ) were empowered7 . The regulations8 also provide for the
constitution of Expert Appraisal Committees (EAC) at the Centre as well as State or Union territory
level Expert Appraisal Committees (SEAC) for advising on environmental clearance of projects9 . For
Protection of forests 10 , coastal zones11 and biological diversity12 separate authorities were
constitutedunder the respective enactments.

While the country has adequate legal mandates to solve the environmental problems, the gaps in
policy implementation mechanism indicate that the enforcement policy is rather weak and at times
non-existent”13. The failure in implementation of environmental laws by the administrative
authorities can be attributed to a number of reasons like drawbacks in the environmental
administrative systems, lack of commitment of officials, political pressures, corruption, gaps in the
environmental legal system etc. According to Geetanjoy Sahu, “implementation of environmental
law continues to be a failure, largely because of lack of commitment by the executive and the
officials of pollution control boards and other environmental regulatory bodies, which are
susceptible to political pressures and corruption

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 empowered the Central Government to take all such
measures as it deem necessary or expedient for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality
of the environment and preventing, controlling and abating environmental protection17 .
Centralized environmental regulatory mechanism may help to formulate and implement a national
environmental policy. But conferment of uncontrolled and wide powers on the regulatory agencies
may result in negation of environmental justice. According to N.S.Chadrasekharan “anyagency
charged with the duty of environmental protection should have certain essential qualities if it is to
function effectively, viz., (i) Environmental expertise; (ii) Ability to make independent decisions
based on validenvironmental criteria and posses coercive power; and (iii) Freedom from extraneous
influences. The Environment Act does not take into account these significant aspects.”1

Lack of an independent regulatory agency in environmental administration is the most important

lacuna in the administration of environmental justice. Regulatory agencies including CPCB are
dependent on the Central government. Central government exercises direct as well as indirect
control on the exercise of powers of CPCB through its administrative and financial tools. The
members of the board are appointed by the Central government20. PCBs are also bound by the
directions issued by the central government21 . The drawback of these controls on the functions of
CPCB is that the decision making by the board may be modeled on the basis of the governmental
requirements which may not be appropriate for the protection and improvement of environment.
These controls also prevent the PCBs from taking decisions against the government authorities for
environmental protection. Hence “such agency should, (i) have full functional freedom: (ii) not be
filled with men amenable to political influence: (iii) not be compelled to dance to the tune of any
other authority, including the government.” 22 But unfortunately the PCBs are still under the
superintendence of the concerned governments.

1 AAREY Forest in Mumbai-

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 24, directed the Mumbai Metro
Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) to strictly abide by its undertaking
that no trees would be cut in Mumbai’s Aarey colony and warned that any
violation will result in strict action.
We can see that administrative authority’s functions are heavily relied upon
the political intervention.

2. development

3. EVs- According to government guidelines, it is mandatory to set up an EV

charging station at every 3 sq km area in cities, and 25 km on highways.

The urban overhaul to allow fast adoption of EVs is strong, as the central
government is working towards creating a robust infrastructure, which also
involves electrification of petrol pumps on priority.

4. Delhi- The ODD EVEN RULE, the current forming registration

5. tree cutting
Conclusion

In Dr.B.L.Wadehra v Union of India 33, the Hon’ble Justice Kuldip Singh observed that34 “Non
availability of funds, inadequacy or inefficiency of the staff, insufficiency of machinery etc. cannot be
pleaded as grounds for non-performance of their (Government authorities) statutory obligations

n L.K.Koolwal v State of Rajasthan46, the Hon’ble Apex Court observed that Article 51A of the
Constitution empowered the citizens to move the court for the enforcement of the duty cast on
state, instrumentalities, agencies, departments, local bodies and statutory authorities

I.            Forestry

1. International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO)[58]

2. The Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety (TCPB)[59]

3. UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)[60]

4. Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)[61]

5. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCD)[62]

6. International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBR)[63]

7. Asia Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC)[64]

8. Asia Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network (APFISN)[65]

 II.            Wildlife Conservation

1. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITESFF)[66]

2. IUCN: World Conservation Union (IUCN)[67]

3. UNESCO World Heritage Program- Cultural and Natural Sites (UNESCO-WHP)[68]

4. Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CCMSWA)[69]

5. International Whaling Commission (IWA)[70]

6) Administrative Law and Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities

1. Administrative law is a branch of public law. It deals with the relationship

of individuals with the government. It determines the organisation and
power structure of administrative and quasi-judicial authorities to enforce
the law. It is primarily concerned with official actions and procedures and
puts in place a control mechanism by which administrative agencies stay
within bounds.
2. in the 21st century that the concept of global administrative law gained its
importance. Increase in the development of the global administrative law
has been enough to reach out to a prototype trans governmental form of
administration that has been outlined to address the results of
interdependence at a global level in spheres ranging from security,
economic assistance, migration of population across borders, trade
practices and many more. These repercussions cannot be dealt with the
help of domestic regulations and administrative assessment only. As an
outcome to this loophole, the birth of several multinational systems to
carry out regulations and the regulatory procedure has been initiated
through international agreements, the formation of informal governmental
networks among nations to uplift the decision-making activity from
domestic to a global level altogether. The regulations and norms referred
here are not bound by any nation and therefore they expand in all corners
of the globe.
3. 2 methods Broadly, there exist two approaches that can be used in
construction purposes of global administrative law namely,

1. One of the two approaches refers to the switching of provincial

administrative law into the global directive. This approach is used to
ensure activeness, legality and adherence in regulation globally.
2. Another approach is switching the global directive into the room of
domestic administration. This approach aims to bring about
divergent ideologies, participation from individuals and adherence in
global regulation.
These approaches can be used in bringing solutions to problems ranging from
law-making activity, adjudication issues to that of accountability and
administrative mismanagement, all at a global level.

4. OPPORTUNITIES

The New Economic Policy in early 1990`s brought a shift from the public sector to private sector.
With this international donor agency exercised immense influence on the domestic economy by
attaching ‘conditional ties’ while giving aid. This has given rise to ‘neo-liberalism’ and no country is
free from this. This changed context has contributed to a new concept in the form of ‘reinvesting
government’ that actually seeks for a transformed role of public administration. Reforms in
administration in India in 1990`s have been basically driven by the measures of economic
liberalization.

global administrative law is in the process of being successful in achieving

welfare and efficiency in a global administrative system. Regulation in fields
of environment, health, finance, economy, the action task force is all
adapting governance at a global level. Some of the major players in the
sphere of global governance include,

1. An international organization with a formal nature like the World

Trade Organisation (WTO), International Monetary
Fund (IMF), World Health Organization( WHO), United Nations
Organisation (UNO), UNICEF 
2. Natural regulators carrying out administration 
3. Private organisations with a function that is regulatory by nature 
4. Multinational networks of joint arrangements.

 
A reduction in the control of domestic administrative agencies can be viewed
as a reflection of the development of global administrative law. What remains
is the complete remodelling of the face of administration by adequate use of
the elements of clarity, just and fair procedure, review of rules and decisions
made and enforcement of these elements as per necessity.

1. The procedural due process law-making feature of global

administrative law is engulfed with the principles of natural justice,
lucidity, consensus resulting from dispute resolution mechanism in
order to successfully carry out adjudication procedure in a global
platform.
2. When it comes to substantive due process law-making, special
concerns for worldly developments must be taken which includes
public administration of available goods and services, environment
concerns, cultivation, standards of labour, human rights, trade of
pharmaceutical elements, materialistic developments and others
needs.
3. The regions beyond the above two where global administrative law
focuses on being responsible and accountable in light to
administrative grounds necessary to bring in efficiency and fairness.

The Impact of Globalisation on Public Administration may be seen in the Following Areas:
Re-inventing Government: - The Traditional Public Administration was marked by rules,
regulations and redtapism. With the globalization there was a paradigm shift in the functioning
 of government and public agencies worldwide which has been termed as New Public
Management (NPM). The main features of NPM is organisational restructuring including
organisational procedures, flattening of hierarchies and so on. NPM reconceptualises citizens as
‘active customers’ to be kept in good humour, and not just passive recipients
Entrepreneurial Government: - Under the impact of globalization, public administration has
adopted entrepreneurial form of government. Efficiency and productivity are the two pillars of
entrepreneurial government. Public sector organisations are now under pressure to enhance the
productivity by increasing efficiency. Along with cutting down waste and increasing output, the
bureaucrats now have to simultaneously try to facilitate better service delivery.
Changing Role of Bureaucracy: - With the extinction of USSR, it has been proved that state
socialism is not the answer for economic growth, and productivity and efficiency can be achieved
only through privatisation and liberalism. The government is a political and not industrial
organization. Developmental activities cannot be managed by bureaucrats who lay more
emphasis on rule book and on following the prescribed regulations. In the present era of
economic globalisation only business management experts can deliver the goods. The
bureaucrats have to function as helpers and accelerators and not as a director or manager.
Good Governance: - Good Governance is the first priority towards reforms in public
administration. It is development oriented committed to improve the quality of life of the
people. It is citizen friendly, caring and aims at building bridges between the state and the
society through people oriented mechanisms of administration.
E-Governance: - E- Governance is the chief feature of good governance. E-Governance is the
application of information technology in the functioning of government. Information technology
is a main factor of modernising governments. It has led to improved delivery of services. E–
Governance has brought procedural simplicity, speed and convenience in governance.
Traditionally, the interaction between a citizen and government agency use to take place in
government offices. With the advent of e-governance, government can provide services to
people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Empowering Citizen: - Globalisation has also lead to the rise of grass roots, people`s
participation at the local level in areas such as women empowerment, education for all, human
rights, consumer’s rights, environmental protection and decentralization. Thus empowerment of
citizens has been an important component of reforming public administration.

5.CHALLENGES

The field of global administrative law is evolving in nature and therefore

judgements passed on these grounds are extremely rare. Nevertheless, the
field is based on the elements of natural justice, fair procedure, human rights
and transparency which itself was born of judgments passed by the court of
law. In the case of  Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen,   the
Supreme Court of the United States decided that the extent of judicial review
cannot be the same as that in case of international negotiation for it
undermines the integrity of the same. This case further showcased that any
administrative agency must be aligned to the promises it has made in an
international forum. 

In, United Mexican State v. Metalclad Corporation, the relationship between a

domestic court and an international court was led down. The questions that
arose was whether it is legitimate for any national court to review the
judgement delivered by a global court and whether such review is an
obstruction or a scope for development in the arena of global law. The above
case laws are two of the landmark cases that show the conflict between laws
on grounds of one being global while the other being domestic by nature.
This says that the path for global administrative law is long and filled with
hurdles for it is not easy to set one adjudicating authority for the entire
globe.

Compared to the more familiar state-level administrative law, global administrative law bears some
differences.

A first difference is the lack of exclusivity among international regimes. A second difference between
global and state administrative law is the global law’s high degree of self-regulation as regulators
and the regulated exist on the same plane. A third difference is that decisions made by independent
committees on the basis of scientific criteria and negotiations concluded by agreements play a more
important role in global administrative law than in domestic law. In domestic administrative law,
decisions made by representative bodies are political decisions, and the unilateral decisions typical
of “command and control” prevail. A fourth difference is that the line between public and private is
hardly clear at the global level. Extended members of the Commission include member states as well
as fishing entities, which may be sub-state bodies or even private actors

GOES AGAINST DIVERSITY

GOES AGAINST NATIONAL INGINUITY AND SPIRIT

CREATES HURDLES

United Nations CANNOT BE SEEN AS A VIABLE EXAMPLE

NOT READILY ACCEPTED, DIFFERENT TRENDS

1st world, vs 3rd world problems

Administrative officers in US have a narrow interpretation of job scope, we have a wide

interpretation to facilitate diverse constraints

Questions regarding structure

First, how is it structured? Does it operate according to international law by means of negotiation or
according to traditional administrative law by “command and control”?

On which grounds does global administrative law rest? National administrative laws are sustained by
a constitutional framework that exists above and beyond the state. Beyond the state, there lies a
global legal space, which is, at most, a system of “global governance.” Can there then be a world
administration without a world government?

What are the relationships between global administrative law and domestic administrative law? Is
there a mismatch, an overlap, or integration between the two levels? Does the emergence of global
administrative law alter the structure of national public powers?

CONCLUSION
The introduction of a globe without impartiality, frauds, anarchy is always
welcoming. The emergence of global administrative law is, therefore, a ray of
light for a world that is divided. The evolving nature of this field brings in
solutions as well as interrogations which are essential for any administrative
system to function. The concepts of diversity, equality, fairness are taking
birth once again and this time the effectiveness is much more efficient for
the functioning of administrative bodies globally.