Civil Liability of the State for Structural Faults in the Administrative System; The Transition from Personal Fault to Organizational Fault
Subject Areas : Civil liabilitySoheil Deyanti Shalkouhi 1 , Qasem Qasemi Bivarzani 2
1 - Student of Master’s Degree in Private Law, Department of Law, Ahrar Institute of Higher Education, Rasht, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor of Islamic Theology and Teachings, Department of Islamic Theology and Teachings, Faculty of Humanities, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran.
Keywords: Structural Fault, Organizational Liability of the State, Attributability of Responsibility, Guarantee of Rights, Administrative Justice, No‑Fault Risk, Administrative Accountability, Institutional Transparenc,
Abstract :
Civil liability of the state in contemporary administrative systems is not limited to the personal fault of government agents and increasingly pertains to structural and organizational deficiencies within the processes of public administration. The central issue of this study is the absence of a coherent and criterion‑based framework for establishing the state’s civil liability for structural faults in the Iranian legal system, as well as the dominance of an individual‑centered approach to compensating administrative damages—a perspective that does not correspond to the complex realities of collective decision‑making, macro‑level policymaking, and institutional performance of the state. A significant portion of the damages suffered by citizens does not stem from the personal error of a specific official, but rather results from weaknesses in oversight mechanisms, inefficiencies in administrative structures, lack of transparency, and defective collective decisions.This research employs an analytical‑descriptive method, drawing upon public law doctrine, domestic regulations, judicial precedents of the Administrative Justice Court, and comparative analysis of selected legal systems. The findings indicate that recognizing the state’s civil liability based on structural fault not only facilitates compensation for administrative harms but also promotes administrative justice, enhances institutional accountability, and strengthens public trust. The results further show that mechanisms such as administrative risk management, performance standards, transparency in decision‑making, and oversight of assets and property of public officials play a decisive role in identifying institutional negligence and preventing the continuation of organizational errors. The main innovation of this study lies in presenting an analytical framework for rethinking the state’s civil liability based on structural fault, clarifying the criteria for attributing organizational responsibility, and offering specific legislative and judicial recommendations aimed at safeguarding citizens’ rights and improving the efficiency of Iran’s administrative system.
1. Ahmadi, A., & Rezaei, N. (2019). Structural defects and state liability. Tehran Comparative Law Journal, 2(1), 89–118.
2. Bell, J. (2021). Administrative justice and the rule of law. Public Law, 2021(3), 421–440.
3. Bell, J., Boyron, S., & Whittaker, S. (2020). Principles of French law (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
4. Bovens, M., Goodin, R. E., & Schillemans, T. (2019). The Oxford handbook of public accountability. Oxford University Press.
5. Cane, P. (2018). Administrative law (6th ed.). Oxford University Press.
6. Contini, F., & Mohr, R. (2020). Legal institutions and the protection of rights. European Journal of Legal Studies, 12(1), 1–29.
7. Craig, P. (2021). Administrative law (9th ed.). Oxford University Press.
8. De Smith, S., Woolf, H., & Jowell, J. (2018). Judicial review of administrative action (8th ed.). Sweet & Maxwell.
9. Fairgrieve, D. (2019). State liability in tort: A comparative law study. Oxford University Press.
10. Faure, M., & Hartlief, T. (2019). Financial compensation for victims of catastrophes. Law & Policy, 41(2), 115–139.
11. Harlow, C., & Rawlings, R. (2021). Law and administration (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
12. Hashemi, M. (2020). Constitutional law of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Vol. 2). Dadgostar Publishing.
13. Katouzian, N. (2019). Non‑contractual obligations: Civil liability. Enteshar Publishing Company.
14. Luhmann, N. (2018). Risk: A sociological theory. Routledge.
15. Mashaw, J. L. (2018). Accountability and institutional design. Yale Law Journal, 127(6), 1523–1587.
16. Mousavi, S. M. (2022). Analysis of state civil liability for administrative acts. Journal of Public Law Research, 8(1), 113–142.
17. Rostami, H. (2020). Organizational fault and government accountability in Iranian administrative law. Journal of Public Law Studies, 6(3), 77–104.
18. Salimi, M. (2021). Developments in the civil liability of the state in Iranian law. Comparative Law Journal, 4(2), 45–72.
19. Schwarze, J. (2018). European administrative law (2nd ed.). Sweet & Maxwell.
20. Tabatabaei‑Motameni, M. R. (2021). Administrative law: General principles and the administrative system of Iran. Mizan Publishing.
21. Tridimas, T. (2020). The general principles of EU law (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
22. Varuhas, J. (2019). Damages for breach of fundamental rights. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 39(3), 673–704.
