29 Bente Mundt Head of 2nd Division Karsten Loiborg Head of 5th Division INSTITUTION STATUS – A COMPLEX AUTHORITY ISSUE In most cases, an administrative authority’s activities in relation to citizens are governed by written rules, i.e. an act passed by the Danish Parliament or an order (administrative rules issued under the provisions of an act). However, in some cases an administrative authority may regulate citizens’ affairs on the basis of unwritten law. The legal basis is thus not a provision of an act or order. When, for instance, a local authority lays down rules for citizens’ access to the town hall during opening hours or otherwise regulates citizens’ access to various local authority institutions, this is done on the basis of unwritten law. In legal terminology, the term ‘institution decree’ is used when a public authority issues rules for a public institution on a non-statutory basis. ‘Institution’ refers to organisations which typically handle care, treatment, confinement or education of citizens or otherwise make public services available to citizens – i.e. day and residential institutions, prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, schools and further education institutions, libraries, museums etc. ‘Decree’ is the legal term for general rules regulating citizens’ affairs which have been issued by an administrative authority. One may then ask what is the legal basis for recognising ‘institution status’ as giving authority. In brief, the situation is that Parliament (in the Finance Act) or a local authority (in its local budget) has subsidised an institution whose existence is implied in legislation. That being the case, the administrative authority must be able to make the necessary decisions on the operation of the institution so that it can function in accordance with its purpose. The requirement of necessity also implies a reasonable relationship between means and ends – the so-called principle of proportionality must be met. This non-statutory regulation can take the form both of introducing general rules and of making specific decisions in relation to individual citizens. This has been established by the courts on several occasions. For instance, a library was