Abstract
Administrative accountability is an important issue for governance in constitutional democracies. Traditional accountability vehicles, like legislative oversight or judicial review, continue to be important, but they are inadequate for addressing day-to-day administrative mistakes. Consequently, the media and civil society organizations (CSOs) play a crucial supplementary role. In fulfilling this role, the media and CSOs expose maladministration, demand transparency, and enhance citizen engagement, serving as societal watchdogs and promoting institutional and legal accountability. This article examines the unique functions of the media and CSOs, illustrates their intersection, identifies the major challenges faced, and contextualizes their contribution in the broader scope of administrative law.
Keywords
Administrative law, accountability, governance, civil society, media, transparency, rule of law.
Introduction
Accountability is necessary to ensure that public power is exercised in a responsible, lawful, and constitutional manner. While discretion is an important part of modern administration, discretion must be constrained in ways to protect against arbitrary and unreasonable behavior, corruption, and inefficient governance. Legislatures, courts, and departmental constraints are established formal accountability mechanisms; however, they cannot guarantee that transparency operates at every level of governance. The media and civil society therefore take on a more prominent role. The media, often referred to as the “fourth estate,” and civil society, which represents citizen associations and NGOs, expand the accountability umbrella by raising awareness and acting as pressure groups. Their value in accountability arises from the fact that they extend oversight from the institution to awareness of accountability in society itself.
- Aspects of Administrative Accountability
Administrative accountability can be categorised into:
Legal accountability, as required by statutory and constitutional provisions reviewed by judicial authority.
Political accountability, as exercised by Parliament and accountability to the electorate.
Professional accountability, as specified by codes of service and ethical standards.
Social accountability, from the public through civil society activism and media reporting.
Given that the first three have severe limitations, social accountability has grown to be an essential supplement, especially in modern democracies.
- Role of Media in accountability
Watchdog function: Investigative reporting acts as a spotlight on corruption and maladministration, preventing it from being ignored by forcing inquiries and changes in institutional arrangements.
Transparency: the media has the public role of providing information about administrative decisions, hence enabling the public to assess the level of governance. The validity of this would also be evident in Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution that provides for freedom of speech.
Agenda-setting: Media highlight issues, thereby bringing particular issues of governance to the attention of the public and decision-makers.
Limitations: Media may skew reporting, and media consolidation and monopoly of ownership means the risks of sensationalism and misinformation undermine how we can trust the media. This issue of media coverage also segues into issues around Due Process where ‘trial by media’ may undermine the guarantees of due process.
- Role of Civil Society
Mobilization and advocacy: Organizations of civil society are mobilizations of citizens where individuals collectively demand reforms to assure transparency and service provision.
Participatory mechanisms: Social audits, citizen charters, and public hearings demonstrate participatory accountability. The successful social audits of MGNREGA proves this.
Legal empowerment: Civil society often pursues accountability through strategic litigation such as Public Interest Litigations which formally connects informal demand with specific judicial review.
Limitations: Human and financial resource constraints, regulatory restrictions, and questions of legitimacy limit the effectiveness of civil society. In some political contexts, civil society is limited in their ability to advocate through forms of state repression.
- Conjunction of Media and Civil Society
The majority of impact occurs when the media and civil society work together as civil society can collect data and mobilize citizens while the media enhances the results of the findings to the general public. An example of this is in the Right to Information movement in India where MKSS mobilized citizens at the grassroots level, but became impactful when the media assisted in making it a political issue forcing the legislative branches to comply when there was sustained media advocacy.
- Legal and Jurisprudential Framework
These accountability actors are enabled by certain doctrines and legal instruments:
Right to Information Act, 2005 – makes provisions for citizens to have access to official information.
Court recognition of the freedom of press – i.e. Indian Express Newspapers v. Union of India, (1985) 1 SCC 641 where the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the press forms an essential element of democracy.
Public Interest Litigations (PIL)- The case cited is S. P. Gupta v. Union of India,1981 Supp SCC 87 where civil society was given standing to act in a situation for the public good.
Whistleblower protection legislation – protect whistleblowers from workplace retaliation in cases of wrongdoing and corruption, working with civil society and the media.
These frameworks establish legitimacy and institutional legitimacy and provide both accountability partners.
- Challenges and Emerging Issues
Disinformation: The media and technology landscape has broadened accountability but is also associated with the proliferation of fictional narratives and divisive agendas.
Constriction of civic space: Challenges to civil society can be recognized as increasingly evident through censorship and surveillances of reporting, oversight, and external restrictions evolving resources or funding for civil society organizations and non-profits threatening autonomy.
Balancing accountability and responsibility: Discernment is required to ensure criticism does not cross the line towards bullying and harassment of administrative functionaries while also creating space for oversight and accountability; this remains a normative struggle.
Conclusion
Media and civil society agencies strengthen administrative accountability, as both provide an external form of watchdog that is complementary to state structures that develop legitimacy within their parameters of law. They build in transparency, a space for participation of citizens, to ensure the principles of the administrative state reflect the constitution. Their legitimacy rests with being independent and placing an emphasis on ethical responsibility and the capacity to mobilize equity against external restrictions. An accountable administration necessitates a plural model: institutional checks through law, complemented by society’s oversight embodied in civil society/ media. Only in this way would the principle that public power is not exercised for arbitrary ends and ultimately serves the people.
“PRIME LEGAL is a full-service law firm that has won a National Award and has more than 20 years of experience in an array of sectors and practice areas. Prime legal falls into the category of best law firm, best lawyer, best family lawyer, best divorce lawyer, best divorce law firm, best criminal lawyer, best criminal law firm, best consumer lawyer, best civil lawyer.”
WRITTEN BY __ Kondala Phani Priya
