GOVERNING ALGORITHMS: THE INTELLECTUALIZATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW AND EMERGING INTERNATIONAL-LAW CONSTRAINTS

Abstract

The proliferation of algorithmic decision-making systems in government administration represents a fundamental transformation of the administrative state, challenging traditional conceptions of administrative law and demanding new theoretical frameworks for understanding governance in the digital age. This research examines the intellectualization of administrative law in response to algorithmic governance, analyzing how legal scholars and practitioners are conceptualizing core administrative principles—transparency, accountability, due process, and reasoned decision-making—to accommodate the sociotechnical complexities of automated systems. Through a comprehensive analysis of recent scholarship, international regulatory developments, and emerging jurisprudence, this paper identifies the evolution from rights-based remedies to systemic governance approaches, including internal administrative rules, prospective benchmarking, and risk-based regulatory frameworks. The research reveals significant tensions between technical efficiency and democratic legitimacy, particularly where algorithmic opacity undermines traditional administrative law safeguards. Emerging international law constraints, notably from the European Union and Council of Europe, are creating new transnational frameworks that emphasize human oversight, impact assessments, and procedural safeguards. The findings suggest that effective algorithmic governance requires methodological pluralism combining doctrinal analysis, empirical evaluation, and comparative institutional study. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on digital governance by providing a systematic analysis of how administrative law is adapting to algorithmic systems and identifying key areas for future research and policy development.