The Unity of Global Administrative Law

Résumé 0

In this article, I offer an account of the unity of the emerging Global Administrative Law. I do so by setting out an understanding - and justification - of each of the terms in the name, specifying the conditions under which GAL can plausibly be thought of as “global”, “administrative” and “legal” in nature. My central claim is that the key to unlocking these mysteries lies in the relation of GAL to the notion of legitimacy. My argument proceeds as follows. I begin by laying down the account of legitimacy that I rely on in the rest of the piece. I then outline a set of assumptions about GAL, and the implications of the account of legitimacy for those assumptions. This provides us with a statement of the conditions of possibility and success for a fully-emerged Global Administrative Law. I then sketch how framing the field in terms of its relation to legitimacy helps us to see how the use of each of the terms in the name was justified, by giving an account of the objects, nature and scope of GAL; and conclude with some reflections on what this might mean for its “unity” if and when it finally emerges.