"The duty of fairness imposed on a public authority - an increased duty - is one of the most famous and this court has repeated it many times, and celebrities do not need evidence. A public authority, whether governmental, municipal or otherwise, should make every effort to meet its obligations, and sometimes what does not need to be said is better said in a clear voice."
(My emphasis - M.A.C.)
- The authority's duty to act fairly in its relations with the citizen derives from its status as a trustee of the public, and traditionally, also from the weakness of the individual vis-à-vis the government and due to the concern that this weakness will lead to an infringement of his freedoms (see Dafna Barak-Erez, Administrative Law, 1, 276 (2010) (hereinafter: Barak-Erez, Administrative Law A) and Eyal Peleg in his article "The Administrative Proceeding in the Shadow of Discretion," Iyunei Mishpat 42, p. 136 (2019).
In the Contram case, the Honorable Justice Yitzhak Zamir referred to the fact that the duty to act fairly applies to the public, and to every person (p. 319 of the judgment):
"It is a cornerstone in the laws of public administration that the administrative authority, being a trustee of the public, must act fairly... The duty of fairness applies to the authority, first and foremost, towards the public. This is the duty of a trustee towards the beneficiary. But in practice, since the public is made up of human beings, the obligation does not apply only to the public, as a vague body, but also to every person."
The words of the Honorable Vice-President, Justice Mishael Cheshin, in the Contram case (ibid., at p. 367) are also relevant in this regard:
"Moreover, the individual and the government are not equal rights, they are not equal powers, and they are not equal status. They are also not friends with each other. The government holds in its hands most power, most power, and most wealth, until the individual - no matter how great his power, power, and wealth may be - will not compare to him or resemble him... The phenomenon that we are witnessing every day, hour after hour, when the individual stands in line at the government's counter, and the line winds and winds more and more. Some call this phenomenon "bureaucracy" and others call it something else. Whatever the name of the phenomenon, the phenomenon is known and familiar to all of us, and not to the good. For this reason, in the past, the courts even came to the aid of the individual when he was standing in front of the same huge machine - they came to the rescue in the past, they continue to come to the rescue today and will continue to do so in the future. For this reason, the courts have even established the principle of loyalty that the government owes to the individual. For the same reason, Halakha established the duty of fairness that the government owes to the individual. This principle and duty stem from the authority's excessive authority, its excessive power, its ability to deny the individual a favor that he would otherwise have been forbidden to enjoy... The duty of fairness that the government owes to the individuals of society derives from the excessive power that the government holds, from the great power of the government. The duty of fairness is intended to serve - alongside other means - as a brake on power and a brake on power...Here he is Gulliver in the land of giants: the giants sit down for a feast, and Gulliver stands at the dining table, his tiny stature, and all his bones float in awe. He was like a salt in their eyes, like a carrot's tail. A common exhale and Gulliver was-not-was."