Abstract

The paper analyses the regulation of the withdrawal of administrative decisions in a comparative perspective. After a short introduction, the first part of the paper (parr. 2, 3 and 4) describes the evolution of this regulation in three national systems. Firstly (par. 2), the paper focuses on the case law of the Conseil d’État and on its reception by the Code des relations entre le public et l’administration, adopted in 2015. About the Spanish system (par. 3), the paper describes the legislation introduced by the Administrative Procedure Act of 1956 and its subsequent evolution in 1992, 1999 and 2015. Then, the paper highliths the peculiarities of the withdrawal of administrative decisions in the United Kingdom, underlining the efforts of the jurisdiction to ensure protection of citizens’ interests without excessively constraining the administrative action. In the second part (par. 5), the main issues are reconsidered in a comparative perspective, taking into account also other legal systems (Italy, Germany, Portugal, Belgium) and focusing on the following aspects: ground of withdrawal and classification of withdrawal decisions, competence to adopt the decision, citizens’ guarantees, relevance of legitimate expectations. Finally, is it considered the unifying impact of supranational case law on the issue (par. 6).