2.5 Further details regarding the authority to delegate the Danish Maritime Authority's competence to private organisations
As previously stated, the authorised classification societies often issue (or refuse to issue) certificates and licences on behalf of the DMA, based on the classification society's own set of rules. These private rules are not subject to any form of prior official control and may be amended by the classification society in accordance with the company's own procedures and articles of association.
The classification societies do not just perform the technical surveys, they also decide whether the regulated requirements have been met, so that certification can take place. Consequently, one could argue that there is a decisive delegation of authority on behalf of the Danish Maritime Authority with regards to the issuance of rules, their enforcement their and subsequent certification. It is assumed in literature(1) Se fx Andersen, Forvaltningsret, 4th ed., Thomson 2000, p. 37f; Andersen, Socialforvaltningsret, 2nd ed., Nyt Nordisk Forlag 2006, p. 130f; Revsbech et al., Forvaltningsret – sagsbehandling, 7th ed., DJØF 2014, p. 67. and ombudsman practice that such an external delegation of authority requires a "clear and explicit legal basis", see for example, the FOU 2005-99, FOU 2008-20, and FOU 2015-40. Since the authorisation is provided in both the international and regional rules, and that it is stated directly in the national rules under the Maritime Safety Act §§ 17(6) and 22 that such a delegation to an external party may take place, this requirement has been met. However, the question is whether classification societies exercising competence on behalf of the Danish Maritime Authority are subject to the general administrative rules. This is not stated in the delegation provisions, so the answer to this must therefore be found elsewhere. This will be the focus for discussion and analysis immediately below, in section 3.