The main principles are:
- Principle of official duty or principle of inquiry:
According to the principle of official duty, the administrative authority must generally initiate proceedings ex officio and gather all necessary evidence on its own initiative, unless otherwise provided. However, parties are obliged to cooperate in the investigation of facts—particularly those facts that are not readily accessible to the authority.. - Principle of substantive truth:
The procedure aims to establish the true facts. This also means that circumstances acknowledged by the parties must be verified for their accuracy. - Duty to instruct:
The duty to instruct means that administrative authorities are obliged to provide guidance to individuals who are not represented by legal representatives, concerning the performance of the intended procedural action and to inform them of the consequences. - Principle of arbitrary order:
Unlike in civil or criminal proceedings, there are no general requirements of immediacy, orality, or publicity in administrative proceedings. Administrative procedures are often conducted only in writing and are not public. - Right to be heard:
Parties have the right to present their case and to comment on all relevant facts. Mere access to the files is therefore not sufficient. Among other things, the disregard of the right to be heard violates the principle of equality. - Free evaluation of evidence:
Administrative authorities are free to decide, according to their own conviction, which evidence they consider credible or not credible.
