Mandate and delegation are the two ways in which an administrative body leaves the exercise of its powers to another. Under mandate the power stays with the body and the mandatary acts in its name; under delegation the power itself passes.
Legal basis
Chapter 10 of the General Administrative Law Act governs both. Article 10:1 defines mandate, Article 10:2 provides that a decision taken under mandate counts as a decision of the mandator, and Article 10:3 excludes mandate where the nature of the power precludes it, for instance deciding on an objection by the same person who took the original decision. Article 10:6 allows the mandator to give instructions and to take the decision itself. Article 10:11 governs mandate to sign. Delegation is in Article 10:13 and following: it requires a statutory basis, and the delegating body can no longer give instructions in the individual case. Both must be published, usually in a mandate decision or register.
How it works in practice
Municipalities and executive agencies maintain extensive mandate registers stating, for each power, who may decide and up to what amount or category. That matters to citizens because a decision taken outside the mandate suffers from a defect of competence. In practice such defects are often cured by ratification, but not always in time.
Where it goes wrong
Decisions are signed by an official who does not appear in the mandate register or who acts beyond its scope. A second error is deciding on an objection through the same official who took the original decision, which Article 10:3 prohibits. Third, where tasks are outsourced to a private party, it is forgotten that mandate to a non-subordinate requires their consent.
Related terms
Mandate connects to the administrative decision, the notice of objection and the policy rule.
Unsure whether the decision was validly taken? Our administrative lawyers check the mandate register.
