Regulation and Public Administration

Regulation is a main component of the modern state. However, in a modern world regulation becomes international because of the international and transnational nature of the regulated activity (see telecommunications, transfer of money, transboundary environmental impacts, police cooperation etc.). The course intends to cover these international and comparative aspects of administrative law which is of particular relevance for Eastern Europe.

The internationalization of regulation poses a new problem to the legal systems of the world and it represents a particular challenge for Eastern Europe. The transition in Eastern Europe is considerably handicapped by lack of adequate administrative structures. In most of the former Soviet republics the concept of general administrative procedure is missing and discretion is used to the detriment of both rule of law and efficiency. Judicial review is unefficient, at best. Beyond the globalization of regulatory law here are special lessons to learned in the comparative perspective.

The scope of administration can most easily be defined residually, as the sum of all activities of the State or any other public authority other than legislature, judiciary or government. Thus administration comprises all activities of public authorities executing constitutional mandates and directives of State institutions, especially legislature and government, and additionally any activity of public agencies authorized specially to act in the public interest.

The course reviews comparative concepts of administrative law and action, followed by empirical comparisons of solutions in Eastern Europe and the West (specifically in planning, environment protection and police law). These issues are discussed in the broader theoretical framework of social change and transition in Eastern Europe. Target groups Law teachers, lawyers, public administrators, public policy practitioners, teachers of administrative and policy sciences, graduate students.