Electronic forms in the administrative procedure of Russia and Germany

Abstract

The article explores the application of electronic forms in Russian and German administrative procedure. The purpose of the research is to conduct an assessment of the current state of administrative procedure legislation in the view of digital data transmission usage considering three forms of the administrative process: the administrative procedures, proceedings on administrative offences and administrative trial proceedings. This study was conducted with the use of comparative legal research that allowed us to see the general tendencies of digitalisation of administrative procedure within two legal systems and to obtain a qualitative evaluation oft he application of digital technologies in Russian administrative procedure. The study discovered an inequality of digitalisation processes in various types of proceedings as well as within each of them. In particular, digital data transmission is widely used in administrative trial proceedings, whereas proceedings on administrative offences use them the least. The digitization of administrative procedures is particularly complicated to evaluate in general due its extraordinary diversity and the absence of codification for legislation regarding administrative procedures. Hence, provisions for state and municipal services provided were subject to digitalisation most effectively while other administrative procedures (control and oversight activities, licensing etc.) are still awaiting their turn. The analysis of application of digital technologies in administrative procedure illustrates a shift in law-enforcement activity: the automatization of power decision-making processes replaces humans exercising an expression of will by machinery (artificial intelligence) and results in a competition between the technologization of public administration and adherence to the rule of law. Thus, the social nature of public administration inevitably entails the question of limits for the complete digitalisation of the management process in relation to those types of administrative procedure which concern human rights, freedoms and legitimate interests.