The Principles of Administrative Procedure and the EU Courts: an Evolution in Progress?

EU case law often focuses on the breach of administrative procedure principles protecting individuals: participation and respect for the rights of the defence, statement of reasons, protection of legitimate expectations, sound administration, equal treatment, proportionality and respect for a reasonable time.

Perhaps it is possible to discern an evolutionary path. Initially, there was a quite lenient approach towards the administrative authorities when assessing the general principles, which showed an effort to protect the authorities' freedom of choice, for reasons of effectiveness of the European legal system. Presently, an accrued attention for private rights is noticeable, even if this trend is clear in certain fields, while in others the individual's positions still seem rather weak. We could infer that the protection tools for individual situations are part of a growing process, so the result is not always the same, as only some principles have produced strong individual rights.