Administrative appeals and adr in danish administrative law

Abstract

In Denmark, administrative decisions may be reviewed by the administration, by the Parliamentary Ombudsman, or by the judiciary. Characteristic of administrative review is the large number of sector-specific administrative boards of appeal that review administrative decisions across the public sector. A consequence of this characteristic is that administrative review is in practice the rule and judicial review the exception. The chapter analyzes data from three large national boards of appeal and concludes that when it comes to effectiveness, administrative review is on a par with judicial review. In contrast, the paper demonstrates an “effectiveness deficit” as regards the effectiveness of decisions made in first instance as all three boards overrule a large number of decisions. As regards ADR, no general framework has been introduced, but the existing legal framework does not preclude ADR techniques to be introduced in the administration. The chapter analyzes two situations where ADR has been introduced and calls for a thorough debate before such measures are introduced.