Administrative Procedure Act(APA)

Law

5 U.S.C. § 500 et seq.  | (1946)

established practices and procedures for all government agencies to follow in adjudication and rulemaking. The Act granted citizens the right to receive ample previous notice of proceedings, the right to submit evidence, the right to have independent hearing officers (to the exclusion of investigating or prosecuting officers), and the right to a decision based solely on testimony and papers actually entered in the proceedings. It also required agencies to publish notices of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register and to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking by submitting written data or arguments.