Administrative Law in Venezuela

Administrative Law has been a subject on which Professor Allan R. Brewer-Carías has been working, writing and publishing during the past fifty years, since his first book published in Caracas in 1964, on "The Fundamental Institutions of Administrative Law and the Venezuelan Jurisprudence" (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 treating matters of Administrative Law mainly is Spanish, being this his first book in English on the subject. Since 2005, after fixing his permanent residence in New York and after accomplishing his work as Adjunct Professor of Law at Columbia Law School where he thought a Seminar on "Constitutional Protection of Human Rights in Latin America," he has acted a Lawyer and Legal Counsel giving legal opinions on Venezuelan administrative Law, being this book the result of all his research for such purpose. Consequently, the reader will find in this volume a very useful analysis of administrative law in Venezuela, providing information on the country's sources of administrative law, the organization of Public Administration, the administrative action accomplished by its different organs and entities in the national (federal), state and municipal levels of government; the administrative procedures principles and the scope of the principle of legality applicable to 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 persons and institution to Public Administration and public activities. Thorough coverage by a local expert this book fully describes the principal issues regarding judicial review of administrative action, in order to annul illegal administrative act and to assure the respect for the rule of law. In addition, the volume provides specific 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 for its reservation of economic areas (nationalization) and for expropriation of private property; 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 specific discussion on the consent for arbitration in public matters; and the regime referred to the legal status of individuals, citizens and aliens. Details are presented in such a way that readers who are unfamiliar with specific terms and concepts in varying contexts will fully grasp their meaning and significance. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable time-saving tool for both practicing and academic jurists. Lawyers representing parties, with interests in Venezuela will welcome this guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative administrative law.