In public international law, EU law, and national law there are numerous rules and principles stipulating the recognition of foreign administrative decisions. The article explores duties to recognise foreign administrative decisions, the possible limitations of such duties and the handling of cases involving recognition. Recognition of a foreign administrative decision means a form of transfer of public power from one state to another in an individual case. In this way, the traditional limitation of administrative law to the state and its territory becomes less important. Issues related to recognition of foreign administrative decisions could be understood as a balancing of interests between the involved legal orders and the affected individuals. The article puts forward a categorisation of recognition mechanisms in the light of this balancing of interests. It is concluded that the degrees of transfer of public power through the different recognition mechanisms make it possible for legislators and legal decision-makers to find an appropriate level of cooperation.
