“The Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the proceedings of administrative agencies and related judicial review, establishes a scheme of ‘reasoned decisionmaking.' … Not only must an agency’s decreed result be within the scope of its lawful authority, but the process by which it reaches that result must be logical and rational. Courts enforce this principle with regularity when they set aside agency regulations which, though well within the agencies’ scope of authority, are not supported by the reasons that the agencies adduce.” J. Scalia, Allentown Mack Sales and Service, Inc. v. NLRB, 522 U.S. 359, 374 (1998).
Administrative Procedure Act
Definition
A federal statute that governs the procedures and practices of administrative law.
§ 3 of the APA, 5 USC § 552, addresses the procedural formalities that agencies must employ when making decisions. There is a distinction made between (i) general regulations made through the process of rulemaking and (ii) case-by-case decisions made through the process of adjudication.
§ 10 of the APA, 5 USC §§ 701-706, deals with judicial review of administrative agency decisions. Reviewing courts determine whether agency officials acted in compliance with relevant federal statutes and whether the agency’s actions were “arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion.”
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
A federal statute establishing the rules and regulations for applications, claims, hearings, and appeals involving governmental agencies. There are similar acts in many states which spell out the rules for dealing with state government agencies. (See also: administrative law)
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:10 pm
Full text of the Administrative Procedure Act:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/5/usc_sup_01_5_10_I_30_5.html
