Dicey’s conceptualisation of “Rule of Law” was flawed and he failed to appreciate the importance of “Administrative law”. Analyse.

Answer: Instructions/hints:
Dicey believed that there is a contradiction between the rule of law and the French administrative law system. His observations were based on,

  1. Duality of law: while Dicey in rule of law advocated for a common legal system, the droit administratif have a separate legal system for administrators.
  2. The civil servants also enjoy privileges and immunity which are not available to the common citizen.
  3. There is a lack of judicial review and this according to Dicey questions the judicial supremacy.

However, on a closer analysis it is clear that Dicey’s views were ethnocentric and limited to the UK. even there his views are contradicted.
The UK has parliamentary sovereignty rather than judicial supremacy, the King and Queen and royal family, house of lords do enjoy immunity and privileges.
Simultaneously, he also fails to take into account that a separate administrative courts and law does help in speeding up the trials. The growth in delegated legislation demands creation of such institutions (Tribunals).

UPSC General Studies Paper Preparation

Topic
UPSC SyllabusGS Genius-50 Program
Public administration crash courseUPSC GS Mains 2025 Study Material
About the Author: Nitin Kumar Singh 

Scroll to Top