Trends in the Administrative Procedures of Denmark
Trends in the Administrative Procedures of Denmark

Author(s): Bent O. Gram Mortensen, Frederik Waage
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Administrative Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: Denmark; administrative pocedures; EU-law
Summary/Abstract: This article explores common trends within Danish administrative law of the 21st century. The Danish and the Nordic legal tradition is introduced as a starting point. Nordic countries are in many ways similar when it comes to administrative law, partly because the same welfare state model applies to all of them. EU-law is of considerable importance to Danish administrative law. To the extent that administrative law rules implement EU-legislation, the acquis communautaire is applied, and EU-law has a profound influence on sub-disciplines of administrative law such as environmental law, public procurement law and data protection law. The European Convention on Human Rights has also influenced Danish administrative law. However, more than any other factor, the development of general principles of administrative law has been of importance within this area. These principles are today partly codified in legislative acts. The age of digitalization has led to new opportunities as well as challenges for Danish administrative law. The Danish central administration, municipalities and regions are highly digitalized. While digitalization promotes efficiency, it is also a challenge and the article draws a distinction between digitalization which assists the case handler in the assessment, and digitalization which substitutes the assessment conducted by the case handler. The technological advantages have so far not made it possible to replace ordinary decision making with an algorithm. The Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman has developed a number of rules on how digitalized case handling can be conducted properly. Having explored the frame of administrative law in the modern Danish society, the article continues to describe two administrative law cases which have gained massive attention in the latest years among jurists and the general public. The first introduces the reader to the first Danish impeachment trial for more than 25 years. The case involved separation of asylum-seeking couples. The second case demonstrates how a breach of the legality principle has led to a major political scandal amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The article concludes that the general principles of law still play a leading role in Danish administrative law.

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