Legitimate Expectation
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The doctrine of legitimate expectation holds that when a person forms a reasonable expectation based on an administrative body's promises, conduct, or longstanding practice, the government may not simply overturn it. If a major public interest demands the change, it may proceed, but the good-faith loss must be compensated, which limits arbitrary policy reversal and protects the stability of the law.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Test the expectation: did the person reasonably rely on an official act or promise - Weigh the public side: reversal is allowed only for a major and necessary public interest - Pay for the break: compensate or transition good-faith reliance instead of overriding it
Anchor fast decisions
Administrative promises, conduct, and long practice create reliance that a citizen has organized life around, and legal stability requires the state to honor it unless a major public interest outweighs it. The principle binds arbitrary power by internalizing the cost of reversal, so the state must weigh breaking an expectation against the price of compensating the people who relied.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BF%A1%E8%B3%B4%E4%BF%9D%E8%AD%B7%E5%8E%9F%E5%89%87verified
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