As it has been said Administrative Law deals with the organisation of, and functions performed by, various administrative agencies of government and other administrative authorities, the limits and restrictions which govern these functions, as well as the extent to which these limits and restrictions may be utilised by a citizen to obtain relief from the courts.

So what things are covered by Administrative Law?

To put it in layman terms we would include the following:

1. Instances where the government has taken a decision (or failed to take a decision) in relation to licenses , duties, taxes;
2. If you are a public  servant (in the government, a public corporation or a municipality) things like appointments, transfers, promotions are all administrative law related.
3. If you file a public tender with a public authority and is rejected then most probably you have an administrative act.

Administrative Law is one of the areas of Cyprus Law (together with Family Law) that is based on its Greek counterpart. In other words the content, interpretation and application of Administrative Law departs from the traditional common law boundaries, found in other areas of Cyprus Law like for example contract law, and is modelled on Greek Law.

Article 146, found in Part IX of the Cyprus Constitution is the starting point for any discussion on Cyprus Administrative Law as it lays down the basic principles.

Paragraph 1 of Article 146 states that the Supreme Constitutional Court (now Supreme Court)  shall have exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate finally on a recourse made to it on a complaint that a decision, an act or omission of any organ, authority or person, exercising any executive or administrative authority is contrary to any of the provisions of this Constitution or of any law or is made in excess or in abuse of powers vested in such organ or authority or person.

Paragraph 2 states that such a recourse may be made by a person whose any existing legitimate interest, which he has either as a person or by virtue of being a member of a Community, is adversely and directly affected by such decision or act or omission.

Paragraph 3 is important as it lays down the time limits for filing a recouse. It provides that a recourse shall be made within seventy­five days of the date when the decision or act was published or, if not published and in the case of an omission, when it came to the knowledge of the person making the recourse.

The powers of the Supreme Court as a an Administrative Law Court are conferred by paragraph 4. This provides that upon a recourse the Court may, by its decision-
 
(a) confirm, either in whole or in part, such decision or act or omission; or
(b) declare, either in whole or in part, such decision or act to be null and void and of no effect whatsoever, or
(c) declare that such omission, either in whole or in part, ought not to have been made and that whatever has been omitted should have been performed.

Any decision given under paragraph 4 of this Article shall be binding on all courts and all organs or authorities in the Republic and shall be given effect to and acted upon by the organ or authority or person concerned.

Finally paragraph 6 provides that any person aggrieved by any decision or act declared to be void under paragraph 4 of Article 146 or by any omission declared thereunder that it ought not to have been made shall be entitled, if his claim is not met to his satisfaction by the organ, authority or person concerned, to institute legal proceedings in a court for the recovery of damages or for being granted other remedy and to recover just and equitable damages to be assessed by the court or to be granted such other just and equitable remedy as such court is empowered to grant.

The Supreme Court of Cyprus has been very productive in its administrative law jurisprudence. It has developed and enormous amount of case law from 1960 till today. In 1999 the House of Representatives passed law 158(I)/99 ( The General Principles of Administrative Law, Law) which codified administrative law principles as they existed on that day. Therefore many of the principles that were developed by case law have now become statutory.

We have already noted that the sources of Administrative Law are: (a)The Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus; (b) Law 158(I)/99 and (c) other relevant legislation.

Administrative Law is not an easy subject. Many times a case will be won on lost on formalities. So it is very important to get appropriate legal advice in cases you have dealings with the government that may have repercussions on your property, career etc.