Senat Rządzący jako organ kontroli i nadzoru administracji Cesarstwa Rosyjskiego
The Governing Senate as the organ of control and supervision of administration in the Russian Empire

Summary/Abstract: One of the elements of organisation of modern administration of the bureaucratic type was the appointment of institutions to supervise and control its operation. In the Russian Empire, such functions were held by the Administrative Departments of the Ruling Senate, which became the germ of the Russian administrative judiciary, beginning with the second half of the 19th century. Despite the theoretical division of the control and supervisory functions of the Senate, in the ruling practice of its Administrative Departments, the distinction was obliterated and had no direct influence on the course of the procedure and on the content of the statements issued. This status quo resulted both from historical reasons and the mistrust of Russian bureaucracy towards all the forms of external control of its operation. Moreover, Russian legislation did not comprise the notions of administrative action, administrative trial, and parties to the trial. Proceedings in the Administrative Departments of the Ruling Senate was of internal administrative nature, with most cases being substantially solved already at this stage of the preliminary desktop research. It was conducted in secret and without public access, i.e. Iithout the participation of the interested parties and private institutions that were devoid even of the right to provide explanations. In result, the Russian model of control and supervision of administration served predominantly the interests of the administration itself, at the expense of the protection of individual subjective rights of the citizens in the area of public law.

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