Ability to delegate competences by a commune and municipality council

Abstract

The paper is concerned with the scope of the concept an ‘individual public administration matter requiring attention,’ which is disputable both in literature and in case law. Determinations made in this respect affect the applicability of Article 39.4 of Communal Self-Government Act concerning the commune council’s ability to delegate its competences of an executive body to executive bodies of the commune’s auxiliary units and other parties.

According to certain doctrines, an individual public administration matter must be equated with the scope of the concept of ‘administrative decision’ within the meaning assigned to it through the Act – the Code of Administrative Procedure. The article shows that this view is a consequence of identifying the concept of ‘resolving’ with handling individual public matters. However, not every individual public matter requires a resolution as to the legal consequences of the given facts. A major part of individual matters are handled through actual activities that do not require any issuance of an administrative decision. The article further includes discussion of whether delegation of competence to attend to certain matters should at the same time require express authorisation to take actions which are instrumental to the expressly delegated competences, actions which are functionally linked to these competences, and the rationale behind express delegation, as well as taking actions being the obligation of entities implementing public tasks (e.g. issuing certificates/statements of fact, or undertaking actions governed by Disclosure of Public Information Act).