The principles of proper governance constitute a set of unwritten, non-codified general principles of law, "law in action", living in the minds of administrators and judges. These general principles are constantly revised and elaborated through case-law. In the 1980s, these rules had expanded to such an extent that codification was deemed necessary. A committee consisting of eminent scholars was put to work; it drafted several versions of the law that were the object of an extensive debate. Finally, on 1 January 1994, the first and second phases of the Awb (Algemene wet bestuursrecht i.e. General Administrative Law Act) were enacted.