Doctrine of locus standi: occurrence and evolution in administrative law

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the issues of the history of the emergence and evolution of the locus standi doctrine (locus standi in judicio). The occurrence of the term “locus standi,” as well as its manifestations in Roman law, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the 20th century, allows for a better understanding of the locus standi doctrine and possible avenues for its development. In administrative law of the United States, Canada, France, Italy, South Africa, and other countries, the locus standi doctrine holds a prominent place. Ukranian legal system operates with the right to access to the court, the right to appeal to an administrative court, the right to judicial protection, and the right to seek redress, which can have different meanings depending on their understanding in substantive or procedural aspects, taking into account their possible understanding in sensu stricto or sensu lato. In the aspect of determining the right to appeal to an administrative court, the presence of administrative procedural legal subjectivity in a person is crucial in national legal system. Any person with administrative procedural legal subjectivity can be a plaintiff in an administrative case, but not every plaintiff is a proper plaintiff in an administrative case. The right to protection belongs to the proper plaintiff, who has claims in a particular administrative legal dispute. The presence of the right to protection, and in the laws of the United States, Canada, France, Italy, and other countries – the presence of locus standi (locus standi in judicio) in a person, precedes the determination of the possibility of granting the claims of such a person. The evolution of the locus standi doctrine in this article is examined from the right of an individual to appear before popular assemblies in ancient Rome to the right of an individual to appear before the court and act as a plaintiff in a case in modern times. This article attempts to explore the historical aspect of the formation of the locus standi doctrine, as well as its potential application as a basis for further clarification of the substantive legal nature of a proper plaintiff.