Can public administration be an autonomous agent? A moral philosophical critique on organicist theory

This article analyses collective legal responsibility, particularly in public administration. The main objective is to consider whether public administration it is or it is not an autonomous agent, different from its members. In order to accomplish this, the article analyses the two main theoretical conceptions developed in the subject: the organicist theory, which is the most accepted in law; and structuralism, which is the most accepted philosophical theory about collective responsibility. We conclude that some theoretical assumptions that organicists defend, cannot be admited in legal responsibility systems for public sphere.