Administration

Administration in United Kingdom

Definition of Administration

In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Administration :

  • The collection of assets, payment of debts, and distribution to the beneficiaries of property in the estate of a deceased person. See also Grant of representation.
  • The granting of letters of administration (see below) to the estate of a deceased person to an administrator, when there is no executor under the will.
  • The process of carrying out duties imposed by a trust in connection with the property of a person of unsound mind or a bankrupt.

The Organisation and Sphere of Administration

The term administration is not easy to define. It is oftenest used to describe the executive business of the state. The functions of the state are usually classified as legislative, judicial, and executive, and this classification, while open to many objections, is as good as any other that has been suggested. If we adopt it and take administration as equivalent to the executive function, administration will practically comprehend all the activities of the state with two important exceptions, the function of making laws—the legislative function—and the function of interpreting laws—the judicial function. Administration in this sense includes an immense number of subordinate functions, which demand separate treatment.

In a general view of administration it is only necessary to discuss the following topics:

  • The sphere of administration as defined by theoretical writers, in concrete historical instances.
  • The organisation of administration.
  • The relation of the administrative organisation to the sovereign person or body of persons, the individual citizen.
  • The economic aspects of administration.

Sphere of Administration

This covers:

As defined by theoretical writers

The innumerable theories on this subject may be reduced to three types, the type, the socialist type, and the empirical type. The laissez-faire” theory may be stated thus : Individual liberty is the one indispensable condition of goodness and happiness. Constraint is put upon the individual by any and every action of the state. The action of the state is therefore an evil to be reduced within the narrowest limits. The state, therefore, should undertake only those functions which cannot possibly be discharged by private persons, singly or associated. Therefore administration should be restricted to protecting the individual from interference, either by lawbreakers at home or by enemies from abroad.

The only useful departments of administration are the army, navy, and police. The socialist theory may be stated thus—The co-operation of all for the good of all is the one indispensable condition of goodness and happiness. This cooperation can be effected by the state and by the state alone. The action of the state is therefore a blessing to be extended as much as possible. Every human being should be an official either in training, on service, or pensioned off. Administration should be coextensive with social life, and there should be as many administrative departments as there are branches of industry.

The empirical theory may be stated thus— Individual liberty and compulsory co-operation are not ends in themselves, but only means to human well-being. Some wants of society can be provided for only by individuals, other wants only by the state ; but there are many other wants of society respecting the satisfaction of which no general rule can be laid down. Experience must in each case decide what the state should and what it should not attempt. Different maxims will apply to different cases. What should be done by administration in any country will depend on the circumstances of that country. This theory being elastic, its professors differ greatly among themselves, some inclining to and some to socialism.

The sphere of administration

As seen in concrete historical instances, has varied widely, although it has never corresponded to the requirements of extreme socialism or extreme “laissez-faire”. So long as society remains a collection of self-governing families, the sphere of administration, like that of legislation, is restricted. So long as population continues sparse, wealth restricted, and wants few, there is little work for administration. There is hardly a circumstance in the condition of a people which does not contribute to determine the sphere of administrative action.

The Organisation of Administration

Administrative organisation takes innumerable forms. But the character of an administrative system depends mainly on the question whether it is carried on by paid officials (in which case it is popularly called a bureaucracy), or whether it is carried on by unpaid citizens (in which case it is popularly called self-government). With this distinction is connected the distinction between a centralised and a localised administration. A centralised administration must, necessarily, be conducted by paid officials, since private persons cannot regularly travel long distances to take part in administrative work, most of which lies outside their knowledge or interest. A localised administration might be wholly conducted by paid officials of the local authority. But in practice it is usually in great measure conducted by private persons, who make up for the want of professional skill by the knowledge of their own wants, and give their unpaid service because they obtain an indirect return in power, consideration, and the satisfaction of managing their own affairs. [1]

The relation of the administrative organisation

This covers:

  • The relation of the administrative organisation to the sovereign person or body of persons,
  • The relation of the administrative organisation to the individual citizen.

The economic aspects of administration

Administration Letters

When a person dies intestate his real estate passes immediately to his heir, i.e. to the person designated by law as entitled to its enjoyment. His personal estate, however, has to be administered for the benefit of his creditors of the next of kin entitled to enjoy the surplus after payment of his debts. The administrator is a person who takes out letters of administration, i.e. procures himself to be nominated by the Probate Division of the High Court to the administration of the estate. Letters of administration are granted usually to some of the next of kin; failing them, to a creditor, and, if there be no creditor, to any person whom the Court thinks suitable. Once appointed, the administrator very closely resembles an executor appointed by will. Like the executor the administrator, as such, has no beneficial interest in the estate, and no liability for anything beyond the assets which he receives. He is bound to realise the personal estate of the intestate to pay the funeral expenses and debts, and to distribute the balance, if any, among the persons entitled under the Statutes of Distribution (22 & 23 Car. II. c. 10, and acts explaining or amending). He may himself happen to be one of these persons.

It may happen that although the deceased has made a will he has named no EXECUTOR, or that the executor named refuses to act, or becomes incapable, or dies before the testator. In any of these cases an administrator must be appointed, and his administration is said to be “emu testamento annexo,” since it is his duty to give effect to the provisions of the will. Should the sole executor or the administrator be an infant, his guardian will obtain letters of administration ” durante minori aetate,” that is, until the infant attains his majority.

Should the administrator die before he has fully administered the estate, a new administrator must be appointed. For the office of administrator does not pass like the office of executor to the personal representatives of the person who held it. The new administrator has administration “de bonis non administratis” (often termed “de bonis non”) i.e. of goods not administered by his predecessor.

What would be the best law of intestate succession is a question which has been much discussed, and involves complicated economical considerations. But, whatever the nature of that law, the office of administrator of the estate of the intestate appears equally necessary. [2]

Financial restructuring

Refine your research by picking one of the below sections, including the Administration of Company Financial Restructuring.

Administration of Company Financial Restructuring

Ending administration. Find under this subsection information about Ending administration in relation to Administration of Company Financial Restructuring.

Financial restructuring

Refine your research by picking one of the below sections, including the Administration of Company Financial Restructuring.

Administration of Company Financial Restructuring

Initiation of administration. Find under this subsection information about Initiation of administration in relation to Administration of Company Financial Restructuring.

Financial restructuring

Administration of Company Financial Restructuring

Find under this subsection information about Administration of Company Financial Restructuring in relation to Financial restructuring.

Resources

Notes

  1. Robert Harry Inglis, Sir, Dictionary of Political Economy, Vol. 1, 1915
  2. Id.

See Also

Further Reading

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *