Action for Annulment for Excess of Power
Explanation
The action for annulment for excess of power [recours en annulation pour excès de pouvoir] is considered a legal means to challenge administrative decisions. To accept this action, the law requires the petitioner to prove that they have a personal, direct, and legitimate interest [intérêt personnel, direct et légitime] in annulling the challenged decision. Also, this request is not accepted from a person who can resort to another judicial review to obtain the same result.
The time limit for review [délai de recours] is set at two months. This time limit begins from the date of publication of the challenged decision. However, if the decision is among the individual decisions [décisions individuelles], the time limit begins from the date of notification or execution. In the event of the administration's silence resulting in an implicit decision of rejection, the two-month time limit begins after the end of the legal period for the administration's silence.
If the administration issues an explicit decision before the end of the two-month time limit allocated for the implicit decision, a new time limit for review runs from the date of this explicit decision. However, if the explicit decision is issued after the expiration of the two-month time limit, a new time limit does not begin. If the time limit expires and the person submits an administrative review, the administration's restudy of the case does not open the door for review if the new decision affirms the first decision.
The time limit for review is interrupted [interruption du délai] in three exclusive cases to begin anew. The first case is submitting an administrative review within the time limit to the same authority or the authority above it, and the time limit is interrupted only once. The second case is requesting legal aid [assistance judiciaire] within the time limit, where the time limit begins anew from the date of notification of the legal aid decision. The third case is submitting the review to an incompetent court [juridiction incompétente], so the time limit begins anew from the date of notification of the judgment.
The law prohibits circumventing the expiration of the time limit for the action for annulment by resorting to a full jurisdiction review [plein contentieux]. Thus, a full jurisdiction review based on the illegality of an administrative decision for which the time limit for challenge has expired is not heard, if it is based on the same legal ground as the action for annulment and has the same financial results.
Official legal articles
Think deeper
Why does the law prohibit accepting the request for annulment for excess of power if the petitioner can resort to another judicial review to obtain the same result, and how does this relate to the regularity of judicial work?
Flashcards
What is the legal time limit for submitting a review for annulment for excess of power?
Two months beginning from the date of publication of the challenged decision, or from the date of notification or execution if it is an individual decision.
What is the interest condition for accepting the request for annulment for excess of power?
The petitioner must prove that they have a personal, direct, and legitimate interest in annulling the challenged decision.
Is the request for annulment accepted if the petitioner has another path of judicial review that gives them the same result?
No, the request for annulment is not accepted from someone who can resort to another judicial review to obtain the same result.
How many times can the time limit for review be interrupted due to submitting an administrative review?
The time limit is interrupted due to an administrative review only once.
What happens to the time limit for review if the petitioner requests legal aid within the time limit?
The time limit is interrupted and begins anew starting from the date the concerned party is notified of the decision issued regarding the legal aid.
Does the time limit for review open anew if the administration studies an administrative review submitted after the expiration of the time limit and issues a decision affirming its first decision?
The door for review is not opened, and the action submitted after the expiration of the time limit is not accepted in this case.
Practice questions
When does the two-month time limit to challenge an individual administrative decision begin?
The law states that the time limit for review for individual decisions begins from the date of notification or execution (Article 69).
An implicit decision rejecting a request was issued, and before the end of the two-month time limit specified to challenge it, the administration issued an explicit decision of rejection. What is the legal effect on the time limit?
If an explicit decision is issued before the end of the two-month time limit, a new time limit for review runs from this decision (Article 69).
A person submitted an action for annulment for excess of power, but it became apparent that they could resort to another judicial review to obtain the same result. What does the court decide?
The request for annulment due to excess of power is not accepted from someone who can resort to another judicial review to obtain the same result (Article 107).
The concerned party submitted a review to an incompetent court within the legal time limit. When does the time limit for review begin anew?
The time limit begins anew from the date the concerned party is notified of the judgment issued by the incompetent court (Article 71).
The time limit to challenge an administrative decision has expired. The concerned party submitted a full jurisdiction review based on the same legal ground and having the same financial results as the review for annulment. Is this review heard?
The law prohibits hearing the full jurisdiction review in this case to prevent circumventing the expiration of the time limit for the action for annulment (Article 70).
Case problems
Samir was notified of an individual administrative decision dismissing him on February 1. He submitted an administrative review to the competent minister requesting revocation on March 15. Samir was notified of the minister's explicit decision rejecting his review on April 10. When does the time limit for submitting the action for annulment end?
Model answer
Samir was notified of the individual decision on February 1. The two-month time limit began from the notification date (Article 69).
Samir submitted an administrative review on March 15. This occurred within the legal two-month time limit.
Submitting an administrative review to the same or higher authority within the time limit interrupts it (Article 71).
A new two-month time limit begins from the notification date of the explicit rejection decision. The time limit starts from April 10.
Therefore, the time limit for submitting the action for annulment ends on June 10.
Self-grading rubric
The administration issued a regulatory decision published in the Official Gazette. An affected company submitted an administrative review requesting amendment after three months expired. The administration restudied the case and issued an explicit decision affirming the first decision. Does the company have the right to submit an action for annulment based on the new decision? And why?
Model answer
The company does not have the right to submit an action for annulment.
The time limit for review is two months beginning from the publication date of the challenged decision (Article 69).
The company submitted the administrative review after the expiration of three months. This occurred after the judicial review time limit expired.
The administration restudying the case does not reopen the review time limit if the new decision affirms the first. This applies if the administrative review is submitted after the time limit expires (Article 69).
Therefore, the action submitted after the expiration of the time limit is not accepted.