Standing (Administrative Context)
What does "Standing (Administrative Context)" mean in law?
The constitutional and prudential requirements a plaintiff must satisfy to bring a challenge to agency action in federal court. Under Article III, the plaintiff must show (1) an injury in fact that is concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent; (2) that the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged agency action; and (3) that a favorable judicial decision would likely redress the injury. In the administrative law context, the APA adds a 'zone of interests' test: the plaintiff's interest must be arguably within the zone of interests protected or regulated by the statute the agency is charged with administering (Association of Data Processing Service Organizations v. Camp, 1970). This prevents parties with merely tangential grievances from challenging agency action.
Definition
The constitutional and prudential requirements a plaintiff must satisfy to bring a challenge to agency action in federal court. Under Article III, the plaintiff must show (1) an injury in fact that is concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent; (2) that the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged agency action; and (3) that a favorable judicial decision would likely redress the injury. In the administrative law context, the APA adds a 'zone of interests' test: the plaintiff's interest must be arguably within the zone of interests protected or regulated by the statute the agency is charged with administering (Association of Data Processing Service Organizations v. Camp, 1970). This prevents parties with merely tangential grievances from challenging agency action.
Example
Competitors of national banks had standing to challenge the Comptroller's ruling allowing banks to offer data processing services because their competitive interest fell within the zone of interests of the relevant banking statute.