Acta Universitatis Danubius. Administratio

From Bureaucracy to Black Box: Revolutionizing Natural Justice and Due Process in Administrative Law

Junaid Sattar Butt — 2024-12-20

Natural justice, rooted in English common law, embodies fairness in procedural justice and is foundational to Administrative law (Aslam, 2020). The growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Rosenberg, 2023) in administrative decision-making raises serious concerns about upholding fundamental legal principles like Natural Justice, derived from the Latin word “jus natural,” and is not codified, it is closely tied to common law (Mirani, 2022) and Due Process of law, first appeared as a substitute for Magna Carta’s “the law of the land” in a 1354 (Library of Congress, 2014) statute of King Edward III .Often described as “black boxes,” AI systems lack transparency, creating risks for fairness and accountability in decisions may impacting individuals’ rights. This study explores how AI-powered administrative systems can be designed to uphold these principles, ensuring just outcomes and legal transparency. The research critically examines the intersection of AI technology and administrative law, focusing on the opacity of AI’s decision-making processes. The goal is to identify strategies that ensure AI systems in administrative contexts not only align with Natural Justice (right to fair hearings and impartiality) and Due Process (right to a fair procedure) but also maintain public trust in the legal system. Using a qualitative research approach, the study employs doctrinal legal analysis and case studies to review AI frameworks in areas such as departmental inquiries and appeal in departmental inquiries. The analysis compares AI implementations across various jurisdictions, identifying gaps in transparency and accountability. Key findings indicate that without explainability, oversight, and human intervention, AI systems may breach legal principles. The study suggests solutions like Explainable AI (XAI), human-in-the-loop systems, and robust accountability frameworks to align AI with legal safeguards. While AI offers efficiency in administrative decision-making, adherence to fairness and justice principles is critical. The research supports a balanced approach where AI complements, rather than replaces, human decision-making, preserving Natural Justice and Due Process in an automated legal landscape.

Geopolitical Conditions and Election Security in Nigeria

Sunday Owen Abang — 2024-12-24

In the sixty-two years of Nigeria’s existence as an independent nation, a look at the political structure reveals that the core North, comprising North-east, North-west and North-central, has been at the helm of affairs in the presidency for forty-two years, either as military or civilian president. The southern part, made up of South-south, South-west, and South-east have shared the remaining twenty years. The balancing in the South too is greatly in favour of the South-west, followed by the South-south, at the expense of the South-east. This political reality generates tension in the polity, with various ethnic nationalities calling for secession, including the “shortchanged” South-east. It is undeniable that these political turmoils take a toll on the economy and security of the country. This paper set out to examine the geopolitical conditions in Nigeria, with emphasis on the election process, a democratic process that births the regimes, within the context of democratic liberalism. It is a given that elections have turned to violent processes through which governments in power perpetuate themselves, or coerce the voting public into giving way for the success of a choice candidate. This paper adopts secondary method of data collection and interviews. It reveals that securing election in Nigeria is not an easy exercise to achieve in some volatile states. The results of this scientific research recommend the introduction of Electoral Task Force as a panacea to election crises, to be deployed to the polling and collation centres to combat security challenges in the course of elections.

A Public Sector Leadership Framework for Accelerating Economic Development in South Africa

Shoayb Sheik Emam — 2024-12-20

This study aimed to develop a public sector leadership framework for achieving higher economic development. A qualitative approach with an exploratory research design was employed, and 20 participants (Department Heads) from relevant government departments in South Africa were selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was conducted on data collected through semi-structured interviews. Several significant challenges were identified within the public sector leadership, which included institutional weaknesses, historical inequalities, corruption, lack of accountability, inadequate resource allocation, resistance to change, ethical leadership deficits, compliance issues with legislative frameworks, and insufficient development of skills and resources. These issues collectively contributed to the adverse impact on economic development, such as diminished investor confidence, hindered economic growth, increased policy uncertainty, economic stagnation, erosion of investor trust, a decline in corporate competitiveness, and inefficiencies in governmental service delivery. Through the proposed public sector leadership framework, key recommendations are proposed to address the challenges and enhance economic development in South Africa.

Public Opinion and the Formulation of Whistleblowing Policy of the Muhammadu Buhari Administration: Impact and Lesson for Future Implementation

Peter Irabor — 2025-02-07

Public opinion should be at the forefront of policy creation and implementation since it is essential to the legitimacy of government policies. The Nigerian public's perception of corruption served as the foundation for the Muhammadu Buhari administration's whistleblowing policy, which was implemented as a weapon in the war against corruption. This study determined whether there is a relationship between public opinion and the Muhammadu Buhari administration's whistleblowing policy and also identified ways that public support and opinion can be explored to strengthen Nigeria's whistleblowing policy. The study drew data from primary source gotten through the administration of questionnaire on local government workers. The study findings demonstrate that there is no relationship between public opinion and the creation of the Muhammadu Buhari administration's whistleblowing policy, that the policy was not developed in response to public perceptions of corruption, and that Nigerians lack confidence in the policy's ability to significantly reduce corruption. Additionally, the study findings demonstrate that public enlightenment will improve public involvement in the implementation of the policy, that media awareness and sensitization will contribute to the policy efficiency, and that civil society advocacy and support will further promote the policy efficacy. The study came to the conclusion that public opinion could have a positive impact on the whistleblowing policy if media awareness and civil society advocacy increased public involvement in the policy's implementation.