Risk-based supervision as an administrative supervision method

Abstract

One of the significant functions performed by public administration is public supervision over a specified area of social life. Administrative supervisory authorities are given a range of competences for supervision purposes and subsequently decide how to perform them. Supervisory organs create methodologies of exercising their powers and seek optimal methods that will allow them to achieve objectives. Supervisors are often confronted with situations where areas under their supervision are very broad while the resources, especially human resources, that are available to them are insufficient to adequately and effectively cover all the supervised subjects. In such a situation the authority may exercise its powers only selectively and the method of execution of competences becomes a key issue. This paper presents one of such methods developed in practice and used in administrative supervision. It is a risk-based supervision (RBS) method and its genesis, context and nature as well as practical applications – current and potential are presented.