Winning Research Skills - Westlaw

Chapter 4
Fundamentals of
Administrative Law
To provide detailed guidance regarding the implementation and enforcement of legislation, the U.S.
Congress and state legislatures delegate some of their power to administrative agencies. For example,
consider the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Congress wants to establish laws governing air
travel, but realizes that it does not have the time or technical expertise to promulgate specific rules
and administer the law. Hence, Congress delegates authority to the FAA, while retaining oversight
responsibility and budgetary power over the agency.
Agencies such as the FAA are part of the executive branch of government and are responsible for
promulgating and enforcing regulations derived from statutes. Regulations issued by executive
agencies are legally binding and affect virtually everyone. Administrative agencies also conduct
hearings and issue orders, licenses, and advisory opinions. These functions are called quasi-judicial
because the agencies act like courts.
If you take a law school course in administrative law, you will learn about the procedures through
which the agencies exercise their power and the checks that other branches of government have on
the executive branch.
In this chapter, we will give you a brief look at administrative materials. We will examine the
materials of federal agencies, their rules, and their power to adjudicate disputes. The president’s
lawmaking actions will also be noted. State materials are discussed briefly at the end of the chapter.
Information about performing research using the administrative law resources available on Westlaw
is provided in Chapter 11.
Official Publications of Federal Regulations
The U.S. Government Printing Office issues two official publications that contain federal
administrative regulations: the daily Federal Register and the annual Code of Federal Regulations.
You need to understand both publications, as well as how they relate to each other.
Federal Register
The Federal Register (Fed. Reg.) has been published daily since 1936. The largest section of the
Federal Register is the notice section, which contains information such as proposals of new
regulations, calls for public comment, agency orders and opinions, notices of personnel changes
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