Regulation by country
Spain
In Spain the default meaning of administrative silence is estimative, although in practice, there are so many exceptions that it almost never occurs. However, estimated silence is very important in the case of sanction procedures "Sanction (Law)"). In this case, if the public Administration does not respond in a timely manner to an administrative appeal, the administrator is ruled in favor, and the sanction is deemed not to have been imposed.
Administrative silence is regulated in articles 24 and 25 of Law 39/2015.
Whether an act is express or presumed, the Public Administration is obliged to issue an express resolution in all procedures and to notify it regardless of its form of initiation (art. 21 Law 39/2015). The art. 21.3 Law 39/2015 imposes mandatory deadlines for the notification of resolutions. The maximum period in which the express resolution must be notified will be that established by the regulation of the corresponding procedure, which may not exceed six months, unless a norm with the rank of law establishes a longer period or is otherwise provided for in European Community regulations. When the rules regulating the procedures do not set the maximum period, this will be three months. The period in procedures initiated ex officio will be counted from the date of the initiation agreement and, in those initiated at the request of the interested party, from the date on which the application has been entered in the registry of the competent body for its processing (art. 42.3 Law 30/1992).[1].
In procedures initiated at the request of the interested party, the expiration of the maximum period without having notified a legitimate express resolution to the interested party who would have deduced the request to understand it as upheld or rejected due to administrative silence as appropriate, without prejudice to the express resolution that the Administration must issue.
Interested parties may understand their requests to be deemed to have been accepted by silence in all cases, unless a rule with the rank of law or rule of European Community Law establishes otherwise.
Silence is not estimatory - that is, it is dismissal - in the procedures for exercising the right to petition, referred to in Art. 29 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, nor those whose estimation would result in the transfer of powers relating to the public domain or public service to the applicant or to third parties.
Silence has a dismissal effect in the procedures for challenging acts and provisions. However, when the appeal has been filed against the dismissal (due to administrative silence) of a request due to the expiration of the resolution period, it will be deemed upheld if, upon arrival of the resolution period, the competent administrative body does not issue an express resolution on the appeal. It is a way to encourage express resolution to be issued.
In procedures initiated ex officio, the expiration of the maximum period to resolve, without an express resolution having been issued and notified, does not exempt the Administration from compliance with the legal obligation to resolve, producing the following effects:.
In cases in which the procedure has been paralyzed for reasons attributable to the interested party, the calculation of the period to resolve and notify the resolution will be interrupted.
Chili
Law 19,880, on the Bases of Administrative Procedure, establishes in art. 64 the principle of positive silence, whereby once the legal period has elapsed for an authority or administrative institution to resolve a request or finalize a procedure already initiated, the interested party can inform the same body of the expiration of the period, and the latter must acknowledge receipt of the claim and submit the information to the hierarchical superior within a period of 24 hours. If this body does not resolve within a period of 5 days from receipt of the claim, the request of the interested party will be deemed to have been accepted.
Meanwhile, art. 65 of the same establishes negative silence as an exception to the rule of the previous article, in the following cases:.
The art. 66 points out that the effects of both types of silence are equivalent to that of a termination resolution.
Italy
Law no. 241/1990, New rules of administrative procedure, establishes in art. 2, the obligation for the Administration to finalize a procedure with an express act, within the term established by law (30 calendar days, if the law or a regulation does not establish a different term). In general, in the Italian administrative system there are three different types of silence. The silenzio inadempimento (silence-inactivity), the silenzio rigetto (silence-dismissal) and the silenzio assenso (silence-estimatory). The general rule is that of silenzio inadempimento: after the legal period for an authority to finalize a procedure, the interested party can inform the Regional Administrative Court of the expiration of the period, but only for the recognition of their legitimate interest in obtaining an express act by the Administration. The silenzio inadempimento does not have the meaning of an alleged act. Its only reason is the possibility of filing a contentious-administrative appeal. The silenzio rigetto, which we find in some special sectors (such as in instances to obtain public documents), is very rare and is an alleged act: after the legal period for an authority to finalize a procedure, the lack of response represents withdrawal. This silence must be appealed within the legal deadlines (generally, 60 or 120 calendar days). The silenzio assenso is an alleged estimatory act.[2].
Mexico
In the Mexican legal system, administrative silence results in updating the figure of "Ficta Negative Resolution"), that is, in the event that the public administration fails to give an express response to a request or legal appeal, this will be understood as answered in the negative and will leave the interested party with an expeditious way to challenge said negative resolution in a Contentious Administrative Procedure. Of course, this has its exceptions, and such is the case that the specific law that regulates the subject matter of the act on which the request or appeal specifically establishes the figure of Affirmative Resolution ficta"), in which case, in the absence of the authority, the request or appeal will be understood as resolved in favor of the applicant or appellant.
Peru
In Peru, under the TUPA of the transparency law "Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information (Peru)"), administrative law is regulated by the Single Ordered Text of the General Law of Administrative Procedures approved with Supreme Decree No. 006-2017-JUS. Articles 35, 36 and 37 for positive silence, and 38 for negative silence. In addition, Legislative Decree No. 1272 repealed Law No. 29060, which specified the application of the SAP and the SAN, and their effects.
The characteristics of this law are the following: In accordance with the provisions of article 1 of the aforementioned norm, the prior evaluation procedures are subject to positive silence, when it comes to any of the following assumptions:
Exercise of pre-existing rights or economic activities that require prior authorization from the State; except (i) Those acts in which the public interest is significantly affected, affecting health, the environment, natural resources, citizen security, the financial and insurance system, the stock market, commercial defense; national defense and the historical cultural heritage of the nation; (ii) In those trilateral procedures and in those that generate an obligation to give or do of the State, (iii) Authorizations to operate gaming casinos and slot machines, (iv) Procedures by which powers of the public administration are transferred; and, (v) Those registration procedures.
Administrative appeals intended to challenge the rejection of a request or previous administrative acts.
Procedures in which the significance of the final decision cannot directly impact administrations other than the petitioner, through limitation, damage or impact on their interests or legitimate rights.
The “Guidelines for the preparation and approval of TUPA and provisions for compliance with the Law of Administrative Silence”, approved by Supreme Decree No. 079-2007-PCM published on September 8, 2007, describe the parameters to be taken into account by Public Entities in the preparation of their corresponding TUPA, as well as the actions that each Entity must carry out for their approval, detailing the procedure to follow for this purpose. This standard also approves the “Format of sworn declaration of positive administrative silence” referred to in Article 3 of Law No. 29060, the reception of which will constitute sufficient proof of the fictitious approving resolution of the application or procedure initiated in the case of procedures with positive administrative silence.
The repealed Law No. 29060 also provided for the monitoring of administrative procedures by the internal control body of Public Administration entities. Said body will from now on supervise compliance with the deadlines, requirements and procedures so that they are processed in accordance with the provisions of the corresponding Single Text of Administrative Procedures - TUPA, and will submit to the Holder of the Document a monthly report on the status of the administrative procedures initiated, as well as on the responsibilities incurred by officials or public servants who do not comply with the rules of the Law of General Administrative Procedure, the Law of Administrative Silence, and those who have been denounced by the administrators.