Iztok Rakar

The Rulemaking Procedure – Definition, Concepts and Public Participation

Abstract The importance of delegated legislation is growing in both the quantitative and qualitative sense. Under the American system, the so-called division of rulemaking authority between the legislative and executive branch was resolved at a very early juncture and in a highly pragmatic manner by applying the fundamental principles of the legislative procedure to the level of the rulemaking procedure, which primarily implies the transparency and openness of the latter. Conversely, Continental Europe did not develop a general theory of public participation which could provide a basis for the search for solutions to the situation. The purpose of this paper is to present different concepts of the rulemaking procedure and discuss the question of public participation. We conclude that, as the quantity and complexity of societal relationships grow, it is fruitful to use the so-called problem-solving model of the rulemaking procedure as a starting point for its procedural arrangement. This allows us to focus on the role that civil society, interest groups and the general public play in the contemporary governance process.

Evaluation of Delivery Mechanisms in the Water Supply Industry—Evidence from Slovenia

This chapter deals with the evaluation of delivery mechanisms in water supply industry in Slovenia. The focus is on the institutional and outcome evaluation, i.e. an explanation of the phenomenon in local governments where water is mostly supplied by public entities, either by public enterprises or in-house integrated service providers. Although the reform initiatives have focused on privatisation, legal provisions have only allowed for the so-called formal privatisation, and the invention of special statutory category of public enterprise, thus considerably reducing the incentive to use functional privatisation. This chapter presents the first comprehensive institutional and outcome evaluation of the industry in Slovenia.

Normative Principles in the System of Criminal Justice

Legitimacy in the system of criminal justice can be understood, inter alia , as a moral justification of authority. In relation to legitimacy, legality means that within the legal order and legal justice of a democratic state, state bodies are only allowed to do that which is permitted through legal rules. Legitimacy and morality are broader categories than legality and legal justice. In the field of criminal justice, legitimacy is rooted in Tyler’s understanding (1990), which states that recognition of legitimacy plays a key role in obedience before the law. Bennetta-Capersa (2008) takes the view that less strict enforcement of the laws and more police work in the community can reduce the crime rate in society as a whole. This paper’s positive contribution lies more or less in the substantial applicability of terms that have been properly delineated within a social science framework.

Protecting Human Rights Through Fundamental Principles of Administrative Procedures in Eastern Europe

Abstract Administrative procedures (APs) are tools to protect fundamental human rights in statecitizen relations. As the modernization of public administration regulation is undergoing a transformation in the direction of reducing detailed rules on APs and, by the same token, emphasizing fundamental or general principles, research on the development and the state of the art of administrative principles in the general administrative procedure acts (APAs) of selected Eastern Europe countries with a common heritage of Austrian law dating back to 1925 (Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and the Czech Republic) was carried out. The normative-comparative analysis reveals differences in approaches to and the pace of APAs reform and content; some countries are taking a more radical approach, mainly by following good governance dimensions. Convergence based on Council of Europe and EU initiatives is also evident. Classical guarantees against the misuse of power (principles of legality, equality, proportionality, rights of defense, etc.) are therefore crucial. The most progress seems to have been made by Croatia and the Czech Republic; by focusing on partnerships in administrative-legal relations in the sense of good administration, these two countries have, among other things, set a trend for other countries to follow.

Reorganizacija občinske uprave – primer Nove Gorice

Zaradi stalne potrebe po izboljsavah in racionalizaciji poslovanja se je vodstvo uprave Mestne obcine Nova Gorica odlocilo s pomocjo svetovalne skupine Fakultete za upravo analizirati organizacijo struktur in poslovanja mestne uprave ter ugotoviti potrebne ukrepe za racionalizacijo in vecjo uspesnost. V projektu so clani svetovalne skupine pristopili k analizi stanja interdisciplinarno, tako da so podali pregled ekonomskih kazalnikov, primerjavo organiziranosti z drugimi mestnimi obcinami, pravno analizo pristojnosti in organizacijske strukture uprave mestne obcine, oceno uspesnosti po modelu CAF, analizo zadovoljstva zaposlenih ter analizo obremenjenosti oddelkov in tipicnih delovnih mest. Razvili so nekaj izvirnih metodoloskih pristopov. Po analizi so identificirali vrsto možnosti za strukturne, organizacijske, menedžerske in druge izboljsave.

Privatizacija na področju varnosti cestnega prometa – primer prometnih dovoljenj

Eden od osnovnih pogojev za varnost cestnega prometa je tehnicna brezhibnost vozil. Glede na to, da nadzor izpolnjevanja tega pogoja zahteva specificna, strokovna znanja in tehnicno opremo, hkrati pa se država srecuje s fiskalnimi omejitvami, je razumljivo, da je država za izvajanje te naloge pooblastila ustrezno usposobljene subjekte zasebnega sektorja, pri cemer je nanje preneslatudi klasicne oblastne naloge dovoljevanja udeležbe vozil v prometu (pri cemer je hkrati tudi sama ohranila izvajanje teh oblastnih nalog). Podatki o stevilu opravljenih storitev izdajanja in podaljsanja veljavnosti prometnega dovoljenja za motorna vozila v Sloveniji so pokazali, da velika vecina uporabnikov to storitev zaradi enostavnosti in nižjih oportunitetnih stroskov opravi pri pooblascenih subjektih zasebnega sektorja, kar govori v prid popolni privatizaciji pri klasicnem upravnem izvajanju te oblastne naloge.