We have seen that Natural justice is a concept of common law. It represents higher procedural principles developed,
by judges which every administrative agency must follow in taking
any decision already affecting the rights of a private individual,
Natural justice is a concept of changing content. However
it doesn’t mean that at a given time no fixed principles of Natural
justice can be identified. It is a flexible, pragmatic and relative
concept and not a rigid ritualic.
For the last three or four hundred years, the Anglo-American
courts have actively applied two principles of natural justice.
However this reduction of concept cannot ignore the fact that
natural justice goes right down to the wire of the problem of
administrative justice.
() Memo judex in causa suo- No one should be made a
judge in his own call or the rule against bias.
(i) Audi Alteram Partem : Hear the other party, or the rule of
fair hearing, or that no one should be condemned unheard
The principles of Natural justice in terms of
administrative law can be summarised as :
(1) A quasi-judicial authority cannot make any decision
adverse to any party without giving him an effective opportunity
of meeting any allegation against him.
(2) Every person whose civil right is affected must have a
reasonable notice of the case he has to meet.
(3) The person must have a reasonable opportunity of being
heard in his defence.
(4) The person must have the opportunity of adducing all
relevant evidence on which he relies.