Indirect Constitutional Regulatory Standards Governing the Administrative Function

Abstract

The administrative function constitutes the legal instrument through which the State’s public policy is implemented, as well as the mechanism for supervising and monitoring all administrative activities. Accordingly, many states with well-established administrative traditions seek to enact legislative rules that define the ethical framework governing this function, its professional conduct, and its internal and external environment. Since every state performs multiple activities through its administrative employees—who represent the human means by which administrative objectives are achieved—there are several standards upon which the constitutional legislator relies when drafting constitutional provisions. Consequently, the legislative authority adopts these standards as a foundation for the enactment of laws.

This research clarifies the concept and characteristics of indirect constitutional standards and examines the philosophy of the constitutional legislator in defining the State’s public policy in terms of planning, organization, and implementation to achieve its objectives, foremost among them serving the public interest. It further explores the constitutional legislator’s philosophy in shaping the State’s economic policy, understood as a set of measures and decisions adopted to achieve economic and social goals, such as economic growth, price stability, job creation, and trade liberalization. These measures and decisions provide guiding principles that enable the constitutional legislator to formulate standards that contribute to regulating the administrative function.