Pub Date : 2020-11-30DOI: 10.17573/CEPAR.2020.2.04
A. Balthasar
In early 2018, Austria amended its family benefits law by introducing ‘indexation’ according to the average living costs of the country where the child actually resides. What seems to be, at first sight, a flagrant breach of EU law (in particular of Article 7 of Regulation [EC] 883/2004) is, when looking deeper, much more complicated and might very well be only a symptom of deeply rooted differences in the interpretation of current, post-Lisbon Union law, (i) in particular with regard to the relationship between the traditional prohibition of “discrimination on grounds of nationality” (Article 18 TFEU, Article 21(2) CFR; the ‘Leitmotiv’ of the Treaties) and the “citizenship of the Union” (Article 9 second sentence TEU, Article 20(1), first and second sentence) on the one hand and the further role of the “nationality of a Member State” on the other, which shall, pursuant to Article 9 TEU, third sentence, as well as Article 20(1) TFEU, third sentence, not be replaced by the “citizenship of the Union”, (ii) but also with regard to Article 352 TFEU, the scope of which is, most probably, much smaller than that of its predecessor, Article 308 TEC, (iii) and last but not least, with regard to a proper understanding of the principle of equal treatment, requiring not to treat alike factually different situations. Giving a full picture not only in abstract terms but demonstrating the relevance of the said differences on the concrete example of the interpretation of the above mentioned secondary legislation, the author aims at contributing to bridging gaps and, thus, fostering a better mutual understanding as a vital precondition for the future legal cohesion of the EU.
{"title":"The Current Discussion on Austrian Family Benefits – Indicating a Major Dissensus on the Interpretation of EU Law","authors":"A. Balthasar","doi":"10.17573/CEPAR.2020.2.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17573/CEPAR.2020.2.04","url":null,"abstract":"In early 2018, Austria amended its family benefits law by introducing ‘indexation’ according to the average living costs of the country where the child actually resides. What seems to be, at first sight, a flagrant breach of EU law (in particular of Article 7 of Regulation [EC] 883/2004) is, when looking deeper, much more complicated and might very well be only a symptom of deeply rooted differences in the interpretation of current, post-Lisbon Union law, \u0000(i) in particular with regard to the relationship between the traditional prohibition of “discrimination on grounds of nationality” (Article 18 TFEU, Article 21(2) CFR; the ‘Leitmotiv’ of the Treaties) and the “citizenship of the Union” (Article 9 second sentence TEU, Article 20(1), first and second sentence) on the one hand and the further role of the “nationality of a Member State” on the other, which shall, pursuant to Article 9 TEU, third sentence, as well as Article 20(1) TFEU, third sentence, not be replaced by the “citizenship of the Union”, \u0000(ii) but also with regard to Article 352 TFEU, the scope of which is, most \u0000probably, much smaller than that of its predecessor, Article 308 TEC, \u0000(iii) and last but not least, with regard to a proper understanding of the principle of equal treatment, requiring not to treat alike factually different situations. \u0000Giving a full picture not only in abstract terms but demonstrating the relevance of the said differences on the concrete example of the interpretation of the above mentioned secondary legislation, the author aims at contributing to bridging gaps and, thus, fostering a better mutual understanding as a vital precondition for the future legal cohesion of the EU.","PeriodicalId":53802,"journal":{"name":"Central European Public Administration Review","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41681775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-23DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2020.1.10
M. Portocarrero
The purpose of this article is to address the question of arbitrability of administrative conflicts, generally and as characteristic of Portugal. Although the use of arbitration in conflicts where public entities intervene in private relationships is usually allowed, European legislatures commonly consider administrative disputes as a type of controversy excluded from arbitration. It is indeed easy to raise strong arguments against alternative dispute resolution when public administration is implicated. Nevertheless, none of the objections usually raised seems to be unbridgeable. Consequently, the article aims to critically analyse the main arguments against the power of arbitrators to rule on public conflicts. Presently, the Portuguese law allows administrative arbitration in a wide range of areas, from conflicts relating to administrative contracts to conflicts over the legality of administrative authority acts. The assessment of this regime makes it clear that the enlargement of the objective scope of administrative arbitration has to be accompanied by rules, which offer a response to the specific requirements of administrative law and a safeguard of public interest. In this sense, the analysis offers a critical review of the solutions of Portuguese law, which can be also used in comparable legal regimes of other European countries.
{"title":"Arbitration in Administrative Affairs: The Enlargement Scope of Ratione Materiae in Portugal","authors":"M. Portocarrero","doi":"10.17573/cepar.2020.1.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17573/cepar.2020.1.10","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this article is to address the question of arbitrability of administrative conflicts, generally and as characteristic of Portugal. Although the use of arbitration in conflicts where public entities intervene in private relationships is usually allowed, European legislatures commonly consider administrative disputes as a type of controversy excluded from arbitration. It is indeed easy to raise strong arguments against alternative dispute resolution when public administration is implicated. Nevertheless, none of the objections usually raised seems to be unbridgeable. Consequently, the article aims to critically analyse the main arguments against the power of arbitrators to rule on public conflicts. Presently, the Portuguese law allows administrative arbitration in a wide range of areas, from conflicts relating to administrative contracts to conflicts over the legality of administrative authority acts. The assessment of this regime makes it clear that the enlargement of the objective scope of administrative arbitration has to be accompanied by rules, which offer a response to the specific requirements of administrative law and a safeguard of public interest. In this sense, the analysis offers a critical review of the solutions of Portuguese law, which can be also used in comparable legal regimes of other European countries.","PeriodicalId":53802,"journal":{"name":"Central European Public Administration Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43630749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-23DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2020.1.02
Mihaela Vrabie
This article aims to determine when the national authorities have the obligation to comply with EU fundamental rights, in the framework of administrative procedures carried out in the EU Member States. It also aims to determine the legal remedies available at national level in the context of judicial review in case of violation, by the national authorities, of EU fundamental rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU or as general principles of EU law. To this end, this study explains the impact of the legally binding EU Charter on public administration of the Member States and the field of application of the EU Charter at national level. The article also deals with the distinction between EU fundamental rights as primary EU law guaranteed by the EU Charter and EU fundamental rights as general principles of EU law. With reference to the judicial remedies available to national courts, the study outlines the effects of EU law (primacy of EU law, direct effect, direct application) in relation to the EU fundamental rights and the measures that can be adopted by the national courts when the action of the national administrative authorities is not compatible with EU fundamental rights. Finally, the article presents the most important findings concerning judicial protection of EU fundamental rights at the national level, especially from the perspective of the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial stipulated by Article 47 of the EU Charter.
{"title":"Judicial Review of Administrative Action at National Level under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and General Principles of EU Law","authors":"Mihaela Vrabie","doi":"10.17573/cepar.2020.1.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17573/cepar.2020.1.02","url":null,"abstract":"This article aims to determine when the national authorities have the obligation to comply with EU fundamental rights, in the framework of administrative procedures carried out in the EU Member States. It also aims to determine the legal remedies available at national level in the context of judicial review in case of violation, by the national authorities, of EU fundamental rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU or as general principles of EU law. To this end, this study explains the impact of the legally binding EU Charter on public administration of the Member States and the field of application of the EU Charter at national level. The article also deals with the distinction between EU fundamental rights as primary EU law guaranteed by the EU Charter and EU fundamental rights as general principles of EU law. With reference to the judicial remedies available to national courts, the study outlines the effects of EU law (primacy of EU law, direct effect, direct application) in relation to the EU fundamental rights and the measures that can be adopted by the national courts when the action of the national administrative authorities is not compatible with EU fundamental rights. Finally, the article presents the most important findings concerning judicial protection of EU fundamental rights at the national level, especially from the perspective of the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial stipulated by Article 47 of the EU Charter. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":53802,"journal":{"name":"Central European Public Administration Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47932435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-11-07DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2019.2.01
O. Moldovan, Gabriela Bucătariu
The aim of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of (internal) administrative appeal in tax or fiscal matters in Romania, in comparison to the more time and resource consuming court action against an administrative decision imposing fiscal obligations. In order to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of administrative appeals, we analysed data from the reports and documents issued by the Romanian National Agency for Fiscal Administration (NAFA) regarding efficiency related indicators, as well as dispute settlements and the amount of collected tax as effectiveness criteria. Furthermore, data regarding the results of the administrative procedure is compared to the results of the judicial procedure in terms of the number of admitted legal actions that annulled fiscal obligations. The results show that at least in the 2013–2017 period, the administrative procedure was both inefficient and ineffective since, on average, less than 7% of fiscal disputes were solved/settled in favour of the appellant. Moreover, the procedure was rather time consuming – although the disputes should have been settled in 45 days, the answer was provided after 70 days. Hence, the administrative procedure is often seen as a mere stepping stone toward subsequent legal/court actions, with no possibility to provide a satisfactory solution and thus lessen the workload of the court. Surprisingly, the taxpayers seem to consider the courts as a more favourable/efficient means as more than half of legal actions brought against fiscal administrative acts were settled in favour of the taxpayer, i.e. the fiscal obligations were annulled. The effectiveness of the preliminary administrative procedure was further analysed from multiple perspectives pertaining to the players that have a direct or indirect legitimate interest in this procedure. These are (i) the courts, which should/could benefit from a reduced workload if the procedure was effective, (ii) the taxpayers filing administrative appeals, which could have a feasible alternative to the time and resource consuming judicial means, and (iii) the fiscal bodies that issued fiscal administrative acts or that must respond to the appeals. The fact that this procedure is a mandatory predecessor of the judicial one and not an alternative means of dispute resolution seems to significantly impede its efficiency and effectiveness. The results can serve as a basis to analyse and compare the respective data in other countries with similar legal and tax systems.
{"title":"Effectiveness and Efficiency of Administrative Appeal Procedures: a Case Study on Tax Disputes in Romania","authors":"O. Moldovan, Gabriela Bucătariu","doi":"10.17573/cepar.2019.2.01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17573/cepar.2019.2.01","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of (internal) administrative appeal in tax or fiscal matters in Romania, in comparison to the more time and resource consuming court action against an administrative decision imposing fiscal obligations. In order to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of administrative appeals, we analysed data from the reports and documents issued by the Romanian National Agency for Fiscal Administration (NAFA) regarding efficiency related indicators, as well as dispute settlements and the amount of collected tax as effectiveness criteria. Furthermore, data regarding the results of the administrative procedure is compared to the results of the judicial procedure in terms of the number of admitted legal actions that annulled fiscal obligations. The results show that at least in the 2013–2017 period, the administrative procedure was both inefficient and ineffective since, on average, less than 7% of fiscal disputes were solved/settled in favour of the appellant. Moreover, the procedure was rather time consuming – although the disputes should have been settled in 45 days, the answer was provided after 70 days. Hence, the administrative procedure is often seen as a mere stepping stone toward subsequent legal/court actions, with no possibility to provide a satisfactory solution and thus lessen the workload of the court. Surprisingly, the taxpayers seem to consider the courts as a more favourable/efficient means as more than half of legal actions brought against fiscal administrative acts were settled in favour of the taxpayer, i.e. the fiscal obligations were annulled. The effectiveness of the preliminary administrative procedure was further analysed from multiple perspectives pertaining to the players that have a direct or indirect legitimate interest in this procedure. These are (i) the courts, which should/could benefit from a reduced workload if the procedure was effective, (ii) the taxpayers filing administrative appeals, which could have a feasible alternative to the time and resource consuming judicial means, and (iii) the fiscal bodies that issued fiscal administrative acts or that must respond to the appeals. The fact that this procedure is a mandatory predecessor of the judicial one and not an alternative means of dispute resolution seems to significantly impede its efficiency and effectiveness. The results can serve as a basis to analyse and compare the respective data in other countries with similar legal and tax systems.","PeriodicalId":53802,"journal":{"name":"Central European Public Administration Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2019-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44302357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-24DOI: 10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.04
O. Mital'
Serving the public interest should be perceived as a fundamental goal of public administration. Regarding the complexity of social reality, various motives could influence public officials’ behaviour and decision-making. Conflict of interest is mostly discussed as an issue, which relates to activities of elected officials. In this sense, the paper concentrates on rules and standards connected with the conflict of interest, which have to be observed by the public officials. The paper tries to be an interdisciplinary insight and emphasizes the legal and ethical approaches to the examined issue. In this sense, the paper tries to examine the managing of risks and impacts of the examined issue at the local level of self-government in the Slovak Republic. The hypothesis is based on the precondition that ethical norms can define aspects of the conflict of interest more precisely than the relevant legal acts. In the paper, the methods of content analysis, abstraction, comparison and synthesis are involved. The benefit of paper is based on the finding that ethical norms could define important aspects of the conflict of interest more precisely than legal acts. The author presumes that complementarity of legal systems and ethical infrastructure could minimize contradictory and negative impacts of the conflict of interest. Based on this fact, local self-government units should adopt codes of ethics if they want to improve the managing of risks and impacts of the conflict of interest.
{"title":"Conflict of Interest: Legal and Ethical Aspects in Local Self-Government in Slovakia","authors":"O. Mital'","doi":"10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.04","url":null,"abstract":"Serving the public interest should be perceived as a fundamental goal of public administration. Regarding the complexity of social reality, various motives could influence public officials’ behaviour and decision-making. Conflict of interest is mostly discussed as an issue, which relates to activities of elected officials. In this sense, the paper concentrates on rules and standards connected with the conflict of interest, which have to be observed by the public officials. The paper tries to be an interdisciplinary insight and emphasizes the legal and ethical approaches to the examined issue. In this sense, the paper tries to examine the managing of risks and impacts of the examined issue at the local level of self-government in the Slovak Republic. The hypothesis is based on the precondition that ethical norms can define aspects of the conflict of interest more precisely than the relevant legal acts. In the paper, the methods of content analysis, abstraction, comparison and synthesis are involved. The benefit of paper is based on the finding that ethical norms could define important aspects of the conflict of interest more precisely than legal acts. The author presumes that complementarity of legal systems and ethical infrastructure could minimize contradictory and negative impacts of the conflict of interest. Based on this fact, local self-government units should adopt codes of ethics if they want to improve the managing of risks and impacts of the conflict of interest.","PeriodicalId":53802,"journal":{"name":"Central European Public Administration Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2019-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47737898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-24DOI: 10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.06
Bianca V. Radu
The article analyses the implementation of the transparency law and investigates whether its adoption generated more citizens’ participation in the decision making process at municipal level in Romania. The research consisted of an analysis of the transparency reports that municipal authorities need to compile every year. We analysed the reports compiled by 28 cities and 5 sectors of the Bucharest municipality for the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Additional information about the challenges of the implementation of the law was collected from previous studies conducted by nongovernmental organizations on this topic. The research showed that public institutions increased the transparency of the decision making process by disclosing draft normative proposals and the documents the proposals were based on. The level of citizens’ participation in the consultation and deliberation stages of the decision making process remained low over the period analysed, even though a small increase could be observed. The number of recommendations received on draft normative acts was low. The research showed that citizens’ suggestions had higher chances to be included in final decisions if they were voiced during Local Council meetings. Besides providing empirical insights in the implementation of the transparency law in Romania, the article provides the researchers with evidence that increased decisional transparency does not automatically lead to greater citizens’ involvement in the decision making process.
{"title":"The Impact of Transparency on the Citizen Participation in Decision- Making at the Municipal Level in Romania","authors":"Bianca V. Radu","doi":"10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.06","url":null,"abstract":"The article analyses the implementation of the transparency law and investigates whether its adoption generated more citizens’ participation in the decision making process at municipal level in Romania. The research consisted of an analysis of the transparency reports that municipal authorities need to compile every year. We analysed the reports compiled by 28 cities and 5 sectors of the Bucharest municipality for the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Additional information about the challenges of the implementation of the law was collected from previous studies conducted by nongovernmental organizations on this topic. The research showed that public institutions increased the transparency of the decision making process by disclosing draft normative proposals and the documents the proposals were based on. The level of citizens’ participation in the consultation and deliberation stages of the decision making process remained low over the period analysed, even though a small increase could be observed. The number of recommendations received on draft normative acts was low. The research showed that citizens’ suggestions had higher chances to be included in final decisions if they were voiced during Local Council meetings. Besides providing empirical insights in the implementation of the transparency law in Romania, the article provides the researchers with evidence that increased decisional transparency does not automatically lead to greater citizens’ involvement in the decision making process.","PeriodicalId":53802,"journal":{"name":"Central European Public Administration Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2019-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44719729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-24DOI: 10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.09
Marianna Nagy, I. Hoffman, Dorottya Papp
The article summarizes the similarities and differences in voluntary task management of municipalities. For this purpose, we carried out empirical research in three Hungarian and three Slovenian municipalities. Our main objective was to discover which economic and social factors influence the scope of voluntary tasks in Hungary and in Slovenia. We separately analysed six sectors of municipal services, with regard to the different size of the municipalities. Likewise, we only covered the major sectors in which voluntary tasks are most likely to appear and therefore can serve as a basis for comparative analysis. The analysis gradually verified the initial hypothesis of our research that voluntary tasks management is more likely to be present in cities with larger economic powers and is remarkably profounder in municipalities of touristic importance.
{"title":"A Comparative Research on Municipal Voluntary Tasks of Three Hungarian and Slovenian Municipalities","authors":"Marianna Nagy, I. Hoffman, Dorottya Papp","doi":"10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.09","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.09","url":null,"abstract":"The article summarizes the similarities and differences in voluntary task management of municipalities. For this purpose, we carried out empirical research in three Hungarian and three Slovenian municipalities. Our main objective was to discover which economic and social factors influence the scope of voluntary tasks in Hungary and in Slovenia. We separately analysed six sectors of municipal services, with regard to the different size of the municipalities. Likewise, we only covered the major sectors in which voluntary tasks are most likely to appear and therefore can serve as a basis for comparative analysis. The analysis gradually verified the initial hypothesis of our research that voluntary tasks management is more likely to be present in cities with larger economic powers and is remarkably profounder in municipalities of touristic importance.","PeriodicalId":53802,"journal":{"name":"Central European Public Administration Review","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2019-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43564878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-24DOI: 10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.02
Kornelija Marzel
According to the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and the Human Rights Ombudsman Act, the Slovenian Ombudsman is established to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in relation to public authorities. It is important that the Ombudsman not only complies with the provisions of the Constitution and international legal acts, but that when intervening, the Ombudsman may invoke the principles of fairness and good administration. The purpose of the article is to contribute to the understanding of good administration and related circumstances for the respect or violation of human rights. The article is based on the idea that by applying the principles of good administration, public authority undermines the public belief that bureaucracy is an end in itself and is in a dominant position. With these principles, public authority focuses on parties which realise their rights and enjoy their freedoms through the principles and postulates of a democratic society. Both theoretical and empirical research methods were used in the preparation of the article. The analysis of complaints to the Ombudsman aimed to verify the compliance of normative, theoretical bases with actual practice, and to establish the basis for evaluating the existing model of the Slovenian Ombudsman, all in the context of the study of good administration. The results together with theoretical findings facilitated the verification that in practice, public authorities most frequently violate the principles of good administration and that the Ombudsman may significantly contribute to good administration within their powers. The findings of this article are an original contribution to understanding ombudsmen and their role in different countries.
{"title":"Role of the Human Rights Ombudsman in Ensuring Good Administration in Slovenia","authors":"Kornelija Marzel","doi":"10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.02","url":null,"abstract":"According to the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia and the Human Rights Ombudsman Act, the Slovenian Ombudsman is established to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in relation to public authorities. It is important that the Ombudsman not only complies with the provisions of the Constitution and international legal acts, but that when intervening, the Ombudsman may invoke the principles of fairness and good administration. The purpose of the article is to contribute to the understanding of good administration and related circumstances for the respect or violation of human rights. The article is based on the idea that by applying the principles of good administration, public authority undermines the public belief that bureaucracy is an end in itself and is in a dominant position. With these principles, public authority focuses on parties which realise their rights and enjoy their freedoms through the principles and postulates of a democratic society. Both theoretical and empirical research methods were used in the preparation of the article. The analysis of complaints to the Ombudsman aimed to verify the compliance of normative, theoretical bases with actual practice, and to establish the basis for evaluating the existing model of the Slovenian Ombudsman, all in the context of the study of good administration. The results together with theoretical findings facilitated the verification that in practice, public authorities most frequently violate the principles of good administration and that the Ombudsman may significantly contribute to good administration within their powers. The findings of this article are an original contribution to understanding ombudsmen and their role in different countries.","PeriodicalId":53802,"journal":{"name":"Central European Public Administration Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2019-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46499237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-24DOI: 10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.10
M. D. de Vries, I. Sobis
The main theories on small municipalities and the practices as seen in many a country involving the consolidation thereof presume that the contextual and structural conditions under which small municipalities have to perform work to their detriment and pose a threat to their viability. However, the institutional and human resource conditions in which small municipalities operate might work both ways, being profitable as well as disadvantageous. This paper investigates what is theoretically known and can be empirically deduced about the capacity of small municipalities in Europe. The conclusion is that existing research is inconclusive in its outcomes regarding the actual capacity of so-called hamlets and that existing data related to local capacity are unfit to measure such among these small municipalities. Nonetheless, the paper concludes that although no conclusions can be drawn on the actual capacity of small municipalities, their potential capacity is significant. This is concluded based on their legal protection, their inclination to focus on a limited number of policy areas, their access to central and regional decision-making, and especially the trust they receive from their residents.
{"title":"The Potential Capacity of Hamlets: Comparative Research on Small European Municipalities","authors":"M. D. de Vries, I. Sobis","doi":"10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.10","url":null,"abstract":"The main theories on small municipalities and the practices as seen in many a country involving the consolidation thereof presume that the contextual and structural conditions under which small municipalities have to perform work to their detriment and pose a threat to their viability. However, the institutional and human resource conditions in which small municipalities operate might work both ways, being profitable as well as disadvantageous. This paper investigates what is theoretically known and can be empirically deduced about the capacity of small municipalities in Europe. The conclusion is that existing research is inconclusive in its outcomes regarding the actual capacity of so-called hamlets and that existing data related to local capacity are unfit to measure such among these small municipalities. Nonetheless, the paper concludes that although no conclusions can be drawn on the actual capacity of small municipalities, their potential capacity is significant. This is concluded based on their legal protection, their inclination to focus on a limited number of policy areas, their access to central and regional decision-making, and especially the trust they receive from their residents. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":53802,"journal":{"name":"Central European Public Administration Review","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2019-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48387345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-24DOI: 10.17573/CEPAR.2019.1.01
Krisztina F. Rozsnyai
The continuing expansion of judicial review of administrative actions, as seen throughout Europe, led to the engulfment of the administrative judiciary towards the end of the last century. Review within a reasonable timeframe is hard to grant for this reason: the tensions between lawfulness and efficiency are amplified. The answers given to alleviate this tension raise questions that lie at the heart of the principle of separation of powers. This article aims to present some of respective tendencies, which lead to new equilibriums in the system of checks and balances between public administration and the judiciary. To concretise these tendencies, the article analyses some relevant solutions given by the very new code on administrative court procedures, the Hungarian Act No. I of 2017. The most important elements of the regulation of procedures for judicial review of administrative action are provided in a dogmatic and a comparative perspective showing the changes of rules and/or their interpretation through the judiciary. Thus, also important challenges regarding the present understanding of the doctrine of separation of powers are emphasised. The most important elements of the new Hungarian regulation are presented in a coherent system, which also gives insight on the codificational considerations. Moreover, the legislation and jurisprudence must deal with the highlighted aspects in any national and EU legal systems alike.
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