Administrative Law


Administrative law is the rules and regulations promulgated by federal agencies of the executive branch that implement many of the laws passed by Congress.

  • commonly documented in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
  • e.g., HIPAA signed into law in 1996
    • imposed new privacy and security obligations on healthcare providers
    • it did not go into detail on the specific privacy and security requirements that applied
    • tasks the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with creating implementation rules and requirements
  • Agencies must go through a formal rule-making process that allows for public comment
  • remains subject to judicial review
  • can be overridden by a legislative act