Administrative precedents: a path to legal security in the relationship between public administration and citizens

Precedentes administrativos: um caminho para segurança jurídica nas relações entre a Administração Pública e os cidadãos

Abstract

Legal certainty is an essential value to the Democratic Rule of Law, presenting itself as a relevant principie for limiting powers in the performance of state functíons. lt can be understood in a double perspective, from an objective perspective, that is, it concerns the establíshment of limits to the retroactive effects of state decisions, whether in the administrative sphere or in the judicial sphere, from a subjective perspective, that is, linked to the protection of the perfect legal act, acquired right and res judicata. Still, in a subjective conception it can be understood regarding the protection of trust, that is, with regard to the stabilization of the decision-making process when interpreting and applying rules in the exercise of administrative activity. ln this scenario, indeterminate legal concepts and administrative discretion are highlighted, as techniques for solving the question posed in the specific case, which must observe the duty of consistency when making decisions. Thus, administrative precedents are evidenced as an instrument for amplifying legal certainty. This study, through research and bibliographic review, using the deductive method, aimed to analyze the principie of legitimate expectations, unveiling its effects on administrative activity. Thus, the feasibility of stabilizing the decision-making standard was found, with regard to the interpretative activity on norms of undetermined content, including the formation of administrative precedents to amplify legal certainty in administrative activity.