Patna Law Notes

  What is ‘Delegated Authority’? As per the principle of separation of powers, state authority is divided among three organs- the legislature, executive and judiciary. The task of the legislature is to frame laws. The executive has been entrusted with the task of implementing the laws framed by the legislature and the task of the judiciary is to uphold them. Though the doctrine of separation of powers is considered the cornerstone of modern constitutional forms of government, in practice this principle is rarely followed strictly. Practical contingencies make some overlap of functions inevitable. One such instance of one organ performing the task of another is the prevalence of delegation of legislation. Delegation of legislation entails the transfer of part of the legislature’s authority to frame laws to the administration/executive. Legally speaking, delegated legislation may be defined as that which proceeds from any authority other than the sovereign power and is therefor

Principles of natural justice form the bedrock and desideratum of our legal system. As per the principle of Audi Alteram Partem , nobody can be condemned without being given a fair chance to be heard. The right to a fair hearing is an indispensable component of a fair trial and the foundation of a legal system based on the principles of natural justice. In the following, we would discuss the norms and components of a fair hearing. Over the course of decades, through their successive judgments, Courts have elaborated and developed the principle of Audi Alteram Partem to construe a whole code of procedural norms or ‘administrative due process’. This concept comprises many norms, most of which are fluid and elastic. Being an abstract principle, rather than a specific law, Audi Alteram Partem could mean different things depending on the context. As a result, the concept defies a strict definition. Not only do the norms of fair hearing vary from body to body but also vary from situation to