Department letter on access ban not appealable

ATA/79/1998Court of Justice / Administrative ChamberFeb 10, 1998Inadmissible

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

A customer challenged a letter from the Department of Justice and Police and Transport stating that an access ban notified by a public establishment was not contrary to Art. 28 LRDBH. The court held that the correspondence was merely informational and did not constitute a decision within the meaning of Art. 4 LPA. It also noted that the right to be served in an establishment is of civil law nature. The appeal was therefore inadmissible.

Omnilex headnote

Art. 4 LPA; appealability of an administrative correspondence; distinction between binding decision and mere information. A communication that only explains the scope of a statutory provision and does not itself determine rights or obligations is not a decision and is not subject to appeal. The fact that the underlying interest concerns access to or service in a public establishment does not transform a purely informative letter into an administrative act; where the matter is of civil-law nature, public-law remedies are not open merely because an authority comments on the legal situation.

Full text

Descripteurs

RESTAURANT; INTERDICTION; ACCES; DECISION; COMPETENCE; JPT

Normes

LRDBH.28 al.1

Résumé

Le département qui renseigne la recourante sur la portée de l'art. 28 LRDBH ne rend pas une décision susceptible de recours. Le droit de se faire servir dans un établissement est de nature civile. N'est pas une décision au sens de l'article 4 LPA, le courrier du département de justice et police et des transports informant une cliente d'un établissement public que l'interdiction d'accès qui lui a été notifiée par celui-ci en raison de son style d'habillement et de son comportement dans l'établissement, n'est pas contraire à l'art. 28 LRDBH.

Keywords

appealabilityadministrative decisioninformation letteraccess bancivil naturepublic establishmentjurisdiction

Extracted by Omnilex

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Key legal question

Whether the department's letter confirming the scope of Art. 28 LRDBH is an appealable decision under Art. 4 LPA.

Extracted holding

No. The letter merely provided information and did not determine rights or obligations in a legally binding way.

Extracted reasoning

An information letter about the reach of the statute does not amount to a decision. The underlying right to be served in an establishment is of a civil nature, and the department's correspondence did not create, amend, or deny an enforceable public-law position.

Department letter on access ban not appealableAI generated