AIT: IJLR/RNMU-0003

ABSTRACT

The digital transformation of public
administration has fundamentally altered the manner in which governmental
authorities exercise their powers and interact with individuals. Administrative
decisions, traditionally prepared, signed, recorded, and communicated through
paper-based procedures, are increasingly being issued and delivered through
electronic systems. Although this development offers considerable advantages in
terms of administrative efficiency, accessibility, speed, and institutional
accountability, it also raises important questions concerning the legal
validity of electronic decisions and the protection of individual rights. The
transition to digital administration cannot be regarded merely as a technical
change in the form through which administrative decisions are expressed.
Rather, it requires a reconsideration of the legal and procedural guarantees
that govern the exercise of administrative authority.

This article examines the legal
foundations and practical requirements for implementing electronic
administrative decisions, with particular attention to their validity,
procedural legitimacy, and enforceability. It argues that the legal recognition
of an electronic decision does not, in itself, guarantee its legality. An
electronic decision must satisfy the substantive and procedural requirements
applicable to conventional administrative decisions, including competence,
legal basis, proper purpose, procedural fairness, adequate reasoning, and
effective notification. In addition, the electronic environment creates
specific requirements concerning authentication, electronic signatures, data
integrity, secure storage, accessibility, and the preservation of reliable
administrative records.

The article adopts a comparative
legal approach, focusing primarily on the Indonesian legal framework,
particularly Law No. 30 of 2014 on Government Administration, while examining
relevant developments in the United States and the European Union. It also
considers the implications of automated administrative decision-making and the
increasing use of artificial intelligence in public administration. The
analysis demonstrates that electronic decision-making must remain subject to
the principles of legality, transparency, accountability, equality, and
effective judicial protection. Digital systems should facilitate the lawful
exercise of administrative discretion rather than obscure the identity of the
decision-maker or weaken the individual’s ability to understand and challenge
an administrative act.

The article concludes that the
successful implementation of electronic administrative decisions requires an
integrated legal and institutional framework combining appropriate legislation,
secure technological infrastructure, reliable electronic records, trained
public officials, accessible digital services, and effective mechanisms of
administrative and judicial review. The legitimacy of digital administration
ultimately depends not on the sophistication of its technological systems, but
on their capacity to strengthen the rule of law and protect the rights of those
subject to administrative authority

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