The Europeanisation of the Local Self-Government in the South Caucasus

Abstract

The following paper employs a normative approach and focuses on the problem of the current state of the local self-government in the South Caucasus countries: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Since all these countries are members of the Council of Europe, a reference point for decentralisation is the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The paper's main thesis is that despite showing some similarities, the countries have introduced different models of decentralisation that do not fully meet the Council of Europe’s criteria. Such variation is in line with the different political systems of these states and their level of democratisation. The more democratic the state is, the stronger the decentralisation it has adopted. Thus, decentralisation in Georgia follows the European model of public policy, while Azerbaijan is preserving the former Soviet model of weak self-government, with central authorities playing the leading role in public services. The current changes in Armenia’s model resemble the Georgian track of reforms. The findings of this paper may be applicable both in further theoretical research and in implementing reforms of local self-government in various post-Soviet states.

European Charter of Local Self-Government and its Implementation in Azerbaijan: Assessing Legal Compliance and Institutional Adaptation

“…The size of the commission varies based on the number of inhabitants, ranging from five members (in municipalities with up to 500 inhabitants) to 19 (in cities with up to 300,000 inhabitants). Candidates for council membership must be Azerbai-jani nationals over 21 years old, excluding civil servants, members of parliament, judges, and priests [5].…”

“…The heads of these local executive authorities are appointed and removed by the President, who also determines their competencies. In practice, this results in the marginalisation of self-government units in local policy [5].…”

“…By exploring these scholarly contributions, this article aimed to identify the gaps in existing knowledge, nuances in the implementation process, and differing perspectives that complicate the issue [13]. Despite the progress in understanding the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government [7], some questions remain unanswered, particularly regarding Azerbaijan's unique socio-political context [5]. The unresolved issues may include the effectiveness of legislative provisions, challenges faced by local authorities, and the adaptability of institutions to decentralisation principles.…”

From paperwork to pixels: workload and digital governance in Armenian local authorities

“…These provisions were then also streamlined in the law "On Local Self-Government, " adopted in 1996. However, the status of local communities was still unclear up until 2002, when the new law "On Local Self-Government" was adopted, following Armenia's ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Council of Europe, 1985;Czachor, 2022). At that stage, every single locality within the country was granted the status of a community, without any regard for territory, population number, or other features.…”