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.

Liability and Compensation for Damages in case of Violation of the Principles of Accountability and Good Governance

“…; cf. Sever et al, 2014). Since administrative procedure is the main business process of public administration, the principle of accountability is also among the general principles of administrative activity to be included in the APA following the instructions on APA regulation (see Cardona, 2005, p. 6).…”

“…(see Table 1; more on principles cf. also Sever et al, 2014). Their violation can lead to a case of accountability.…”

Potentials of Administrative Procedures as a Participatory Tool within Governance Models in Central and Eastern Europe

“…Peters and Pierre (2005), Rose-Ackerman and Lindseth (2010), Kovač et al (2012). 18 More in Sever et al (2013). Cf.…”

“…New laws are being drafted in the EU candidate countries and the EU itself (see Resolutions of the EU parliament of January 2013 and June 2016; the one from 2013 with Recommendations to the Commission on a Law of Administrative Procedure of the European Union (2012/2024(INL)) and the one from 2016 with Proposal for Regulation of the EP and of the Council for an Open, Efficient and Independent European Union Administration (2016/2610(RSP)); see especially the formal and societal grounds for their adoption. Cf Galligan (1998),Peters and Pierre (2005),Meuwese et al (2009),Rusch (2014),Sever et al (2013),Auby (2014),Galetta et al (2015)…”

EU principles as a guide for modelling timely administrative procedures in Slovenia and Croatia

“…This effect is especially evident when case law supports normative codification as by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in cases Tillak in 2006 or H. N. in 2014, although the role of the CJEU in this sense is rather reserved. The implications of the CJEU case law are of utmost importance to Member States, primarily to new ones such as Slovenia and Croatia, owing to nationally underdeveloped theory and jurisprudence on good administration, in general, and its elements such as timeliness, in particular (see further case law of the ECHR regarding Slovene and Croatian cases (see footnotes [29][30]). The right to good administration or, more appropriately, the fundamental principles of administrative law as a set of rights of good administration in accordance with Article 41 of the EU Charter, call for fair and impartial handling of affairs within a reasonable time and includes the right to be heard, to have access to one's file, to use any official language of the EU, to have the Union make good any damage, and the obligation to state reasons for all decisions.…”