Is the European Charter of Local Self-Government an effective instrument for the protection of local autonomy in Poland?

Zakroczymski, Stanisław (author)

Purpose: The objective of this research is to examine whether the European Charter of Local Self-Government is, in practice, an effective instrument for the protection of the autonomy of local government in Poland, as well as well as to define the contribution of the Polish case law and administrative practice to the understanding of the principles of the Charter. The importance of the subject is strengthened by the political context. For many years, Poland was considered a model country safeguarding extensive local autonomy. Recently, however, recentralization trends have emerged in government policies.  Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on the qualitative and quantitative empirical research of the case law and administrative practice with elements of doctrinal analysis. Findings: The Charter is present in the case law of the Constitutional Tribunal (22 judgments), administrative courts (166), and public administration bodies supervising local governments (49). The number is high compared to other CoE countries. The administrative courts seem to be more eager to adjudicate in favour of local governments in the cases in which the Charter is referred to. Academic contribution to the field: A specific Polish input to the application of the Charter is the frequent use of the principle of proportionality in the supervision of local governments, which serves the courts as a perfect tool for resolving ‘hard cases’ between the local government and central administration bodies. In several important judgments, Article 11 concerning the judicial protection of local governments was invoked to effectively strike down the law limiting the local governments’ access to court in specific cases. Practical implications: The research may be useful for local government representatives in formulating their litigation strategies, especially in legal disputes with central authorities. Originality/value: This research is the first all-embracing empirical research of the application of the Charter in a country’s legal practice. It shows original ways of the practical use of the Charter not described in the literature so far.

• Language: English
• Keywords: European Charter of Local Self-Government, local government, administrative courts, supervision of local government, local autonomy
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: Str. 169-189, 196-197
• Numbering: Vol. 20, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-143417
• UDC: 352(438)(4-6EU)
• ISSN on article: 2591-2240
• DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2022.2.08
• COBISS.SI-ID: 132389635
• Publication date in RUL: 20.12.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Central European public administration review
• Publisher: Fakulteta za upravo
• ISSN: 2591-2240
• COBISS.SI-ID: 293849600

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Ali je Evropska listina lokalne samouprave učinkovit instrument za zaščito lokalne avtonomije na Poljskem?

Abstract

Namen: Članek skuša ugotoviti, ali je Evropska listina lokalne samouprave v praksi učinkovit instrument za zaščito avtonomije lokalne samouprave na Poljskem, ter opredeliti prispevek poljske sodne in upravne prakse k razumevanju njenih načel. Dodatno težo obravnavani tematiki daje politični kontekst. Poljska je dolga leta veljala za vzorno, lokalni avtonomiji naklonjeno državo, vendar vladne politike v zadnjem času vse bolj izkazujejo težnje po ponovni centralizaciji. Zasnova/metodologija/pristop: Študija temelji na kvalitativni in kvantitativni empirični raziskavi sodne in upravne prakse z elementi analize doktrine. Ugotovitve: Listina nastopa v sodni praksi ustavnega sodišča (22 sodb), upravnih sodišč (166) in organov javne uprave, ki nadzorujejo lokalno samoupravo (49). V primerjavi z drugimi državami Sveta Evrope gre za zelo veliko število sodb. Zdi se, da so v zadevah, v katerih se sklicujejo na Listino, upravna sodišča bolj pripravljena odločati v korist lokalne samouprave. Akademski prispevek k znanstvenem področju: Posebnost uresničevanja Listine na Poljskem je pogosta uporaba načela sorazmernosti pri nadzoru lokalne samouprave, ki sodiščem služi kot odlično orodje za reševanje »težkih primerov« med lokalno samoupravo in državnimi upravnimi organi. Več pomembnih sodb je na podlagi člena 11 o pravnem varstvu lokalne samouprave učinkovito razveljavilo zakon, ki v določenih primerih omejuje dostop lokalne samouprave do sodišč. Vpliv v praksi: Študija je lahko koristna za predstavnike lokalnih oblasti pri oblikovanju strategij za sodne postopke, zlasti v sporih z državnimi organi. Izvirnost/vrednost: Študija je prva celovita empirična raziskava uporabe Listine v pravni praksi neke države. Prikazuje izvirne načine praktične uporabe Listine, ki doslej v literaturi niso bili opisani.

• Keywords: Evropska listina lokalne samouprave, lokalna samouprava, upravna sodišča, nadzor nad lokalno samoupravo, lokalna avtonomija