The Common Core of Administrative Laws in Europe: a research agenda

This paper aims at ascertaining whether, despite many differences between European systems of administrative law, there are some connecting elements, or a “common core”, and, if so, whether such ‘connecting elements’ can be formulated in legal terms, as opposed to generic idealities. After a quick introduction, the paper is divided into three parts. Part 2 illustrates the background, in two respects: the transformation of administrative law within European countries and the variety of views about the possibility to compare them. In Part 3, it is argued that there are two main difficulties with traditional approaches to comparative administrative law: the tendency to juxtapose a variety of legal systems, without comparing them, and the excessive emphasis on institutional design. In part 4, the main choices of the research are explained; that is its purpose is that of the advancement of knowledge, as opposed to the attempt to harmonize national laws, the focus on administrative procedure, and the choice of legal systems. Last but not least, there is a combination of a synchronic comparison, based on a ‘factual’ approach which draws on the experience gathered in the context of the ‘Common Core of European private law’, with a diachronic comparison; that is, a retrospective that sheds light on some aspects of history of legal institutions that look particularly relevant for understanding the processes of cross-fertilization.