Each court case has to follow many procedural requirements. These guarantee your full participation in an effective court process.
Procedural requirements guarantee that:
- you are given an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the court process
- the court process is effective
- the court process is open to public scrutiny
The state as an opponent
Your opponent in an Administrative court is the public authority (e.g. the state represented by certain state body, other public institution, a municipal body) which is always considered to be in a better position than you. Because of this inherent inequality, an administrative court has an extra duty to find out the truth in your case objectively.
Guarantees
There are a number of guarantees to ensure that you are able to understand what is happening in your case and to present your arguments to the court on equal terms with the public authority. These guarantees cover the entire process commencing from your right to use the language you understand, to your rights in appeals processes where they are applicable.
The right to a fair trial also demands that the court process is prompt and effective. The court process and the judgment must also be generally accessible to public. The judgment must contain sufficient reasoning for you and for members of society to understand why the court has decided the way it has.
Read more about procedural requirements. If these procedural requirements are not met in administrative proceedings, it might result in a violation of your right to a fair trial.