Fully Automated Administrative Acts in the German legal System

The introduction of the fully automated administrative act in the German General Administrative Procedure Act (Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz) in 2016 was a milestone of a wide-ranging public administration reform. According to § 35a VwVfG, an administrative act can be generated through a fully automated, digital process when it is envisaged by a legal provision and if there is no discretion or room for independent appreciation on behalf of the administration. The new regulation has opened up for interpretive debates among scholars about prerequisites and limits of admissibility of fully automated administrative acts.
The automation of administrative proceedings provides several advantages, but it also counts incisive negative consequences and problems.