Proceduralism and Automation: Challenges to the Values of Administrative Law

Abstract

This paper has three main themes. The first is the steady proceduralisation of public administration experienced in recent years. The second theme is the relationship between procedures and values and the potential for dissonance and exchange between public administration and administrative law. We follow these themes in public administration and administrative law in the United Kingdom, though we touch occasionally on supranational developments in the European Union; in both systems, though for slightly different reasons, an unremitting proceduralisation has taken place. The third theme concerns challenges to administrative law from the technological revolution currently under way. The impact of automation on public administration was at first rather modest; recently, however, technology has taken great leaps forward - from computerisation to artificial intelligence and beyond. The paper points to some problems that are emerging and suggests that they need to be addressed.