MSD – Administrative Law
Spring Semester 2026 Tilburg University, LL.B. Global Law (Year 2)
Master Study Document – Administrative Law
Content
Week 8....................................................................................................................................................6
Section 1: Core concepts....................................................................................................................6
Mediated legitimacy (Lindseth)......................................................................................................6
Principal-agent theory & the “fire alarm”.......................................................................................6
Objective v subjective conceptions of judicial review.....................................................................6
Constitutional culture.....................................................................................................................7
Section 2: Topic dissection..................................................................................................................7
The big picture why judicial review matters....................................................................................7
Theoretical frameworks for judicial review (Lindseth)....................................................................7
Foundations and jurisdictional models...........................................................................................8
Access to justice: who, what, and how?.........................................................................................8
The Dutch context and Childcare Benefit scandal...........................................................................9
Legal methodology: how we compare systems............................................................................10
Section 3: Cases and authorities.......................................................................................................10
The Toeslagenaffaire.....................................................................................................................10
Benthem v Netherlands (ECtHR, 1985).........................................................................................11
Conseil d’État (France)..................................................................................................................11
Section 4: Relationships between concepts......................................................................................11
Section 5: Key takeaways..................................................................................................................12
Week 9..................................................................................................................................................13
Section 1: Core concepts and principles...........................................................................................13
Judicial review..............................................................................................................................13
Legality v merits............................................................................................................................13
Deference and margin of appreciation.........................................................................................13
Bell’s trust model of accountability...............................................................................................13
Braiding.........................................................................................................................................14
Standing (locus standi)..................................................................................................................14
Section 2: Topic dissection................................................................................................................14
The administrative state and Bell’s 5 functions.............................................................................14
Forms of judicial review and the separation of powers tension...................................................15
Bell’s special tasks of judicial review.............................................................................................15
Braiding: integrating accountability mechanisms.........................................................................15
The two phases of review and Cane’s categories..........................................................................16
, MSD – Administrative Law
Spring Semester 2026 Tilburg University, LL.B. Global Law (Year 2)
Jurisdiction: which court reviews administration?........................................................................16
Constitutional and supranational constraints...............................................................................17
Access to courts and standing (who can sue?)..............................................................................18
Section 3: Cases, scenarios, and authorities.....................................................................................18
AXA General Insurance v Lord Advocate (UK Supreme Court)......................................................18
Todis v Jumbo (Netherlands).........................................................................................................18
Scenarios [lecture]........................................................................................................................19
Section 4: Relationships between concepts......................................................................................19
Section 5: Key takeaways & the 8-step scenario method..................................................................20
Core takeaways.............................................................................................................................20
8-step practical scenario method (for exams)...............................................................................20
Week 10................................................................................................................................................22
Section 1: Foundational context (layers)...........................................................................................22
The historical roots of judicial review (course week 3 integration) (French v German
philosophical models)...................................................................................................................22
Section 2: Typologies of administrative activity................................................................................22
Section 3: Identifying the defendant: judicial review of private actors.............................................23
Section 4: The core tension – legality v merits..................................................................................24
Section 5: Access to judicial protection............................................................................................24
The two conceptions of judicial review.........................................................................................24
Barriers to access: ouster clauses and political acts......................................................................25
Standing, deadlines, and costs......................................................................................................26
Section 6: Grounds of Review...........................................................................................................26
External (formal and procedural defects) unlawfulness................................................................26
Internal (substantive defects) unlawfulness.................................................................................26
Section 7: Standards of review: reasonableness, proportionality, and deference............................27
Reasonableness review (the common law/UK approach).............................................................27
Proportionality review (the German/EU/human rights approach)...............................................27
The US approach: arbitrary, capricious, and deference................................................................28
The Canadian approach: correctness v reasonableness................................................................28
Additional (don’t know where to put it exactly)...............................................................................28
Overlap with w1-6............................................................................................................................29
Section 8: The relationship between administrative procedure and judicial review.........................30
Section 9: Takeaway..........................................................................................................................30
Week 11................................................................................................................................................32
Section 1: From administrative law to regulation & the meaning of regulation...............................32
, MSD – Administrative Law
Spring Semester 2026 Tilburg University, LL.B. Global Law (Year 2)
Definition......................................................................................................................................32
Explanation...................................................................................................................................32
Key principles................................................................................................................................32
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................33
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................33
Examples.......................................................................................................................................33
Section 2: Forms of regulation: public, private, hybrid, and beyond the state..................................34
Definition......................................................................................................................................34
Explanation...................................................................................................................................34
Key principles................................................................................................................................35
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................35
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................35
Examples.......................................................................................................................................35
Section 3: Why do we regulate (market failures & beyond)..............................................................35
Definition......................................................................................................................................35
Explanation...................................................................................................................................36
Key principles................................................................................................................................37
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................37
Case/authorities...........................................................................................................................37
Examples.......................................................................................................................................37
Section 4: Historical development & the regulatory state................................................................37
Definition......................................................................................................................................37
Explanation...................................................................................................................................37
Key principles................................................................................................................................38
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................39
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................39
Examples.......................................................................................................................................39
Section 5: Law and regulation...........................................................................................................39
Definition......................................................................................................................................39
Explanation...................................................................................................................................39
Key principles................................................................................................................................40
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................40
Section 6: Risk, danger, and uncertainty...........................................................................................40
Definition......................................................................................................................................40
Explanation...................................................................................................................................40
Key principles................................................................................................................................41
, MSD – Administrative Law
Spring Semester 2026 Tilburg University, LL.B. Global Law (Year 2)
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................41
Section 7: Technical approaches to risk............................................................................................41
Definition......................................................................................................................................41
Explanation...................................................................................................................................41
Key principles................................................................................................................................42
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................42
Section 8: Risk perception (psychological, sociological, cultural)......................................................42
Definition......................................................................................................................................42
Explanation...................................................................................................................................42
Key principles................................................................................................................................44
Section 9: Risk as public risk management & regulatory science......................................................44
Definition......................................................................................................................................44
Explanation...................................................................................................................................44
Key principles................................................................................................................................45
Section 10: The precautionary principle...........................................................................................45
Definition......................................................................................................................................45
Explanation...................................................................................................................................45
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................46
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................46
Section 11: Riskification and the regulation of rights........................................................................47
Definition......................................................................................................................................47
Explanation...................................................................................................................................47
Key principles................................................................................................................................48
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................48
Section 12: Sector applications: food safety, certification, and behavioral regulation......................48
Food safety and EFSA....................................................................................................................48
Certification schemes and their problems....................................................................................48
Behavioral regulation....................................................................................................................49
Section 13: Takeaways......................................................................................................................49
Week 12................................................................................................................................................51
Section 1: The concept, meaning, and legitimacy of regulation.......................................................51
Definition and the cybernetic perspective....................................................................................51
Public, private, and hybrid regulation...........................................................................................51
Legitimacy of regulation...............................................................................................................52
Over- v under-regulation...............................................................................................................52
Section 2: The core case study: fast fashion.....................................................................................52
Spring Semester 2026 Tilburg University, LL.B. Global Law (Year 2)
Master Study Document – Administrative Law
Content
Week 8....................................................................................................................................................6
Section 1: Core concepts....................................................................................................................6
Mediated legitimacy (Lindseth)......................................................................................................6
Principal-agent theory & the “fire alarm”.......................................................................................6
Objective v subjective conceptions of judicial review.....................................................................6
Constitutional culture.....................................................................................................................7
Section 2: Topic dissection..................................................................................................................7
The big picture why judicial review matters....................................................................................7
Theoretical frameworks for judicial review (Lindseth)....................................................................7
Foundations and jurisdictional models...........................................................................................8
Access to justice: who, what, and how?.........................................................................................8
The Dutch context and Childcare Benefit scandal...........................................................................9
Legal methodology: how we compare systems............................................................................10
Section 3: Cases and authorities.......................................................................................................10
The Toeslagenaffaire.....................................................................................................................10
Benthem v Netherlands (ECtHR, 1985).........................................................................................11
Conseil d’État (France)..................................................................................................................11
Section 4: Relationships between concepts......................................................................................11
Section 5: Key takeaways..................................................................................................................12
Week 9..................................................................................................................................................13
Section 1: Core concepts and principles...........................................................................................13
Judicial review..............................................................................................................................13
Legality v merits............................................................................................................................13
Deference and margin of appreciation.........................................................................................13
Bell’s trust model of accountability...............................................................................................13
Braiding.........................................................................................................................................14
Standing (locus standi)..................................................................................................................14
Section 2: Topic dissection................................................................................................................14
The administrative state and Bell’s 5 functions.............................................................................14
Forms of judicial review and the separation of powers tension...................................................15
Bell’s special tasks of judicial review.............................................................................................15
Braiding: integrating accountability mechanisms.........................................................................15
The two phases of review and Cane’s categories..........................................................................16
, MSD – Administrative Law
Spring Semester 2026 Tilburg University, LL.B. Global Law (Year 2)
Jurisdiction: which court reviews administration?........................................................................16
Constitutional and supranational constraints...............................................................................17
Access to courts and standing (who can sue?)..............................................................................18
Section 3: Cases, scenarios, and authorities.....................................................................................18
AXA General Insurance v Lord Advocate (UK Supreme Court)......................................................18
Todis v Jumbo (Netherlands).........................................................................................................18
Scenarios [lecture]........................................................................................................................19
Section 4: Relationships between concepts......................................................................................19
Section 5: Key takeaways & the 8-step scenario method..................................................................20
Core takeaways.............................................................................................................................20
8-step practical scenario method (for exams)...............................................................................20
Week 10................................................................................................................................................22
Section 1: Foundational context (layers)...........................................................................................22
The historical roots of judicial review (course week 3 integration) (French v German
philosophical models)...................................................................................................................22
Section 2: Typologies of administrative activity................................................................................22
Section 3: Identifying the defendant: judicial review of private actors.............................................23
Section 4: The core tension – legality v merits..................................................................................24
Section 5: Access to judicial protection............................................................................................24
The two conceptions of judicial review.........................................................................................24
Barriers to access: ouster clauses and political acts......................................................................25
Standing, deadlines, and costs......................................................................................................26
Section 6: Grounds of Review...........................................................................................................26
External (formal and procedural defects) unlawfulness................................................................26
Internal (substantive defects) unlawfulness.................................................................................26
Section 7: Standards of review: reasonableness, proportionality, and deference............................27
Reasonableness review (the common law/UK approach).............................................................27
Proportionality review (the German/EU/human rights approach)...............................................27
The US approach: arbitrary, capricious, and deference................................................................28
The Canadian approach: correctness v reasonableness................................................................28
Additional (don’t know where to put it exactly)...............................................................................28
Overlap with w1-6............................................................................................................................29
Section 8: The relationship between administrative procedure and judicial review.........................30
Section 9: Takeaway..........................................................................................................................30
Week 11................................................................................................................................................32
Section 1: From administrative law to regulation & the meaning of regulation...............................32
, MSD – Administrative Law
Spring Semester 2026 Tilburg University, LL.B. Global Law (Year 2)
Definition......................................................................................................................................32
Explanation...................................................................................................................................32
Key principles................................................................................................................................32
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................33
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................33
Examples.......................................................................................................................................33
Section 2: Forms of regulation: public, private, hybrid, and beyond the state..................................34
Definition......................................................................................................................................34
Explanation...................................................................................................................................34
Key principles................................................................................................................................35
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................35
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................35
Examples.......................................................................................................................................35
Section 3: Why do we regulate (market failures & beyond)..............................................................35
Definition......................................................................................................................................35
Explanation...................................................................................................................................36
Key principles................................................................................................................................37
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................37
Case/authorities...........................................................................................................................37
Examples.......................................................................................................................................37
Section 4: Historical development & the regulatory state................................................................37
Definition......................................................................................................................................37
Explanation...................................................................................................................................37
Key principles................................................................................................................................38
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................39
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................39
Examples.......................................................................................................................................39
Section 5: Law and regulation...........................................................................................................39
Definition......................................................................................................................................39
Explanation...................................................................................................................................39
Key principles................................................................................................................................40
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................40
Section 6: Risk, danger, and uncertainty...........................................................................................40
Definition......................................................................................................................................40
Explanation...................................................................................................................................40
Key principles................................................................................................................................41
, MSD – Administrative Law
Spring Semester 2026 Tilburg University, LL.B. Global Law (Year 2)
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................41
Section 7: Technical approaches to risk............................................................................................41
Definition......................................................................................................................................41
Explanation...................................................................................................................................41
Key principles................................................................................................................................42
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................42
Section 8: Risk perception (psychological, sociological, cultural)......................................................42
Definition......................................................................................................................................42
Explanation...................................................................................................................................42
Key principles................................................................................................................................44
Section 9: Risk as public risk management & regulatory science......................................................44
Definition......................................................................................................................................44
Explanation...................................................................................................................................44
Key principles................................................................................................................................45
Section 10: The precautionary principle...........................................................................................45
Definition......................................................................................................................................45
Explanation...................................................................................................................................45
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................46
Cases/authorities/historical events..............................................................................................46
Section 11: Riskification and the regulation of rights........................................................................47
Definition......................................................................................................................................47
Explanation...................................................................................................................................47
Key principles................................................................................................................................48
Legal framework...........................................................................................................................48
Section 12: Sector applications: food safety, certification, and behavioral regulation......................48
Food safety and EFSA....................................................................................................................48
Certification schemes and their problems....................................................................................48
Behavioral regulation....................................................................................................................49
Section 13: Takeaways......................................................................................................................49
Week 12................................................................................................................................................51
Section 1: The concept, meaning, and legitimacy of regulation.......................................................51
Definition and the cybernetic perspective....................................................................................51
Public, private, and hybrid regulation...........................................................................................51
Legitimacy of regulation...............................................................................................................52
Over- v under-regulation...............................................................................................................52
Section 2: The core case study: fast fashion.....................................................................................52
