When does an administrative appeal decision take effect, and what must the committee do with the decision document?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the certified copy of the decision as issued by the committee, and the record showing the day it was served on the complainant, since the provision ties effectiveness to that service; where the Central Administrative Appeals Committee decided, we also look for the notice sent to the head of the central government agency concerned.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the provision as written: the committee must serve a certified copy of the decision on the party without delay, and the decision takes effect when that copy has been served on the complainant; where the Central Administrative Appeals Committee decided, it must also let the head of the central agency concerned know the outcome.
Another reading marks the limits of what is said: the effectiveness rule names service on the complainant as its trigger, while the copies ordered for the interested person and for the counterpart of the disposition are separately served documents, so the provision does not make effectiveness depend on those services; nor does it state what follows if the complainant refuses the certified copy or the service is later found invalid.
Your judgment
If the complainant never received the certified copy, how could the file show whether the decision has nevertheless taken effect?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change when the decision takes effect, or if a court decision states how refusal of the certified copy or an invalid service affects effectiveness.