The scope of application of the charter's right to good administration of the European Union

Abstract

Article 41 of the Charter for Fundamental Rights of the EU guarantees the right to good administration as a fundamental right of the EU citizens. It seems from the wording that Article 41 applies only to the institutions, bodies and agencies of the Union, without mentioning the Member States. This gives it a narrower scope than that given in Article 51.1 concerning the scope of the Charter as a whole. This paper discusses the question of applicability of the right to good administration regarding the implications of Article 41 in this respect. The doubt that stems from this is whether the content of 51.1 prevails or, on the contrary, it must be ignored and taken as reference the particular provision in Article 41.