From Street‐Level to System‐Level Bureaucracies: How Information and Communication Technology is Transforming Administrative Discretion and Constitutional Control

TLDR

ICT is reshaping large executive public agencies, replacing street‑level bureaucracies that allowed discretionary decision‑making with system‑level bureaucracies dominated by system analysts and software designers. The article examines how this ICT‑driven shift affects constitutional governance, questioning the discretionary authority of system‑level bureaucrats and how to safeguard due process and fairness. ICT has nearly perfected law implementation, and the article proposes institutional innovations to embed system‑level bureaucracies within the constitutional state.

Abstract

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is rapidly changing the structure of a number of large, executive public agencies. They used to be machine bureaucracies in which street‐level officials exercised ample administrative discretion in dealing with individual clients. In some realms, the street‐level bureaucrats have vanished. Instead of street‐level bureaucracies, they have become system‐level bureaucracies. System analysts and software designers are the key actors in these executive agencies. This article explores the implications of this transformation from the perspective of the constitutional state. Thanks to ICT, the implementation of the law has virtually been perfected. However, some new issues rise: What about the discretionary power of the system‐level bureaucrats? How can we guarantee due process and fairness in difficult cases? The article ends with several institutional innovations that may help to embed these system‐level bureaucracies in the constitutional state.