Administrative
dispute is evolving towards a more proactive role for the ad- ministrative court
in determining the relevant facts
and legal basis
of the case. Despite the possibility for the court to take evidence ex officio in administra- tive dispute,
the bulk of the activity of taking evidence rests with the parties to the proceedings. It is for the court to
assess the evidence presented and to decide on the admissibility of specific
pieces of evidence. This article deals with the assessment of motions for evidence in administrative dispute.
It first discusses the meaning
and exercise of the right to evidence and the related distribution of the
burden of proof in administrative dispute. It then focuses, from a theoretical
and practical perspective, on the assessment of submitted evidence in
administrative dispute, distinguishing between formal and sub- stantive criteria
for assessing the admissibility of submitted evidence.
The arti- cle also analyses the use of evidence obtained
in violation of human rights and
freedoms, examines the assessment of evidence in the context of the decision to issue an interim
injunction, and analyses
the standards of reasoning applied in the dismissal of evidence.
Key words: right
to evidence, proposed
evidence, administrative dispute,
burden of proof,
criteria for assessing the admissibility of proposed evidence, formal criteria, substantive criteria.