Administrative Law in Venezuela

This book on Administrative Law is the result of the academic and professional work of professor Allan R. Brewer-Carías accomplished in New York since 2005, after fixing his permanent residence in the City, and after finishing his work as Adjunct Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, which resulted in his book Constitucional Protection of Human Rights in Latin America. A Comparative Study of Amparo Proceedings, Cambridge University Press, New York 2009. Professor Allan R. Brewer-Carías has been working, writing and publishing on matters of Administrative Law during the past fifty years, since his first book on 'The Fundamental Institutions of Administrative Law and the Venezuelan Jurisprudence' was published in 1964 (Las Instituciones Fundamentales del Derecho Administrativo y la Jurisprudencia Venezolana, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas 1964). Since then, he has published many books and articles in Spanish referred to all matters of Administrative Law, having collected all his works in his recent six volumes 'Treaty of Administrative Law' (Tratado de Derecho Administrativo. Derecho Público Iberoamericano, Civitas, Tomson Reuters, Arazadi, Madrid 2003).This book on Administrative Law in Venezuela, now in its Second Edition (First Edition 2013), is his first book on the matter in English, mainly written mainly due to his academic and professional work and research accomplished in order to give, as a Legal Expert on matters Venezuelan Administrative Law, legal opinions that were filed before judicial and arbitration courts resolving cases or controversies on matters of Venezuela Law. The result of such work has been this very useful volume providing legal analysis and information on the Venezuelan’s sources of Administrative Law, the organization of the Public Administration of the country, in the national (federal), state and municipal levels; the administrative action accomplished by its different organs and entities in all levels of government; the administrative law procedures principles and the scope of the principle of legality applicable to the administrative action; the use and enactment of administrative acts in order for the Administration to decide on particular matters, and the use of administrative contracts in order to associate private corporations and institution to Public Administration in the development of public activities. In addition, the volume provides specific legal information regarding important issues of Administrative Law concerning the regime on restrictions of economic freedom and of property rights, with special emphasis on the constitutional means the State can use to reserve for the State specific economic sectors and to nationalize industries, and on the rules applicable to expropriation of private property; the regime of reversion on administrative concessions; the regime of environment protection and land use, with particular emphasis on matters regarding the oil and mining industries; the regime of the protection and promotion of investments, with the specific discussion on the State’s consent for international arbitration in public matters given in the 1999 Investment Law, now abrogated; and the regime referred to the legal status of individuals, citizens and aliens.Finally, the book fully describes the principal issues regarding judicial review of administrative action, in order to seek for the annulment of illegal administrative act, and to assure the respect for the rule of law, with particular references of the 'amparo' proceeding for the protection of constitutional rights against infringements made by public officials; all of with highlighting specific references to the current tragic situation of the Venezuela Judiciary, which because lacking of independence and autonomy, has no real possibility to perform any effective judicial or review or control over administrative action.