Conditions for referral to the Administrative Court

Before typing the administrative court or the Council of State, you must verify that the dispute is within the competence of the administrative justice. Certain disputes involving the administration fall within the jurisdiction of the courts known as judicial (civil, social or criminal).

To do this, it may be useful to consult the database of stops of the Conflict Tribunal. It is that court which decides on conflicts of jurisdiction between administrative courts and judicial courts.

It is important to do this check because the referral error can be very harmful to you. If you mistakenly seize the administrative court, it may relinquish jurisdiction to a judicial court, but that is not an obligation.

Before any recourse, you can also try to reach an amicable agreement with the help of a mediator.

In several disputes (public service, social assistance, housing and removal from the list of jobseekers), the prior mediation procedure has been mandatory since 1^er April 2018. and until November 18, 2020.

The compulsory prior administrative appeal (Rapo) is an appeal that is sometimes imposed before the administrative judge is seized. This appeal shall be addressed to the administration to enable it, if it considers it justified, to take a new decision without the intervention of the court. In disputes where such a remedy is provided for, it is a mandatory prerequisite for referral to the administrative court.

The Rapo applies in particular to the following areas:

• Tax litigation (e.g. tax base)
• Access to administrative documents
• Access to regulated professions (example: College of Physicians)
• Military civil service: appeal to the Military Appeals Board
• Foreigner litigation (e.g. refusal of visas)

The applicable rules (time limits for bringing proceedings, collegiate body for appeal, adversarial procedure) differ according to the Rapo. The decision of the administration that you are challenging indicates the means and time limits by which the appeal may be made.

You can challenge any decision of the administration regardless of the author (State, department, municipality, hospital) or the content.

On the other hand, it is not possible to attack mere opinions, information, drafts or declarations of intent formulated by an administration.

If you believe that you are being harmed by the administration's behavior, you should send a request to the administration for a decision (for example, a request for compensation, cessation of a disorder, access to a right).

The relevant administration will then acknowledge receipt of your request and provide you with the following information:

• Response times
• Time limits after which you may consider your application to be implicitly refused or accepted
• Remedies and time limits

The administration will then have to take its decision within the prescribed time limits, either by express decision or by by implied decision rejection or acceptance.

You don't have to pay to make the appeal.

But if you hire a lawyer, you have to pay his fees. Depending on your income, you may be entitled to legal aid.

In order to challenge a decision of the administration, you must act within the prescribed time limit. If you don't, your request will be rejected.

The appeal periods are extended if you make a ex gratia or hierarchical appeal.

The deadline may be different for certain appeals (e.g. 5 days for municipal elections). You must therefore carefully read the contested decision, which sets out the remedies and time limits applicable.