The 'duty of giving reasons' under Namibian administrative and constitutional law

Abstract

Abstract taken from background of the study

It is common cause that at common law there was no duty on the administrative official to give reasons for provision that obliged such official to give reasons, when exercising his discretion in terms of a statutory provision. Where there is no statutory requirement for the administrator to give reasons such official would not have acted improperly by not doing so

In Namibia when the constitution came into operation the right to administrative justice was entrenched or made part of chapter 3 (the bill of rights). Even so the constitution is silent on the question of reasons, although it requires administrators to comply with the requirements common law and any other law[1]

The incorporation of common law in the problem however is as stated above that the administrators were not obliged to give reason unless a statute required him or her to provide same while exercising his discretion in accordance with such statute

Due to the position current position in Namibia is such that some statutes require reasons to be given for decisions taken, and others do not. Hence, creating a situation where a problem arises as to the constitutionality of statutes in respect to the right to administrative justice