Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardControl of Civil Service and Bureaucratic Problems

A regulatory agency continuously neglects to issue an operational license to an applicant who has satisfied all legal and procedural requirements established by an Act of Parliament. If the aggrieved applicant applies to the High Court to force the executive head of the agency to execute this mandatory statutory duty, which judicial control mechanism is appropriate?

  1. A
    An order of certiorari
  2. An order of mandamusAnswer
  3. C
    A legislative motion of impeachment
  4. D
    An order of prohibition

Answer

An order of mandamus
The order of mandamus is a judicial remedy issued by a superior court commanding a public officer, administrative body, or government agency to perform a specific statutory duty that they are legally obligated to perform but have failed or refused to execute.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the nature of the administrative failure described in the scenario.
The public authority has neglected or refused to perform a compulsory duty required by statute after all statutory conditions were met.
Identifying whether the administrative defect is non-performance, unauthorized action, or excess jurisdiction determines the specific prerogative writ required.
2
Distinguish between the functional scopes of the various judicial prerogative writs used to control bureaucratic actions.
Certiorari quashes illegal decisions; prohibition prevents pending illegal actions; mandamus compels the performance of a neglected statutory duty.
Judicial control over civil service administration relies on specific legal orders tailored to particular types of administrative defaults.
3
Select the writ that precisely matches the objective of compelling performance of a mandatory duty.
The order of mandamus is the correct remedy.
Mandamus commands public officials to do what the law specifically mandates them to do.

Key Concept

Judicial Control of Civil Service: Prerogative Writs (Mandamus)
Rate this question

Topics

Control of Civil Service and Bureaucratic Problems

More questions from this topic