Administrative contracts have been attracting the attention of administrative theory for more than a century. They can be found in almost all European continental legal systems, either as an institution regulated by law or as an institution established only in theory and/or case law. An administrative contract can be defined as a bilateral legal transaction concluded by the state or another public-law entity and third persons with the aim of realizing public interest, which is subject to a specific legal regime.
Even though administrative contracts are not recognized in the Slovenian regulatory framework, they have also appeared in its territory: first only in theoretical discussions, later in courts' case law. Thus, numerous contractual relationships containing elements of administrative contracts can be found in the Slovenian legal system. However, due to the absence of a special public law regulation or insufficient regulation of such contracts, they are governed by the rules of obligation law, which is based on different principles than administrative law. Therefore, the application of these rules is not appropriate due to the specific nature of administrative contracts, which points to the need to regulate the fundamental features of administrative contracts in Slovenian law as well. In the absence of a specific legal regulation of this institute, unilateral interventions by a public-law entity in a contractual relationship for reasons of public interest, which are the essence of the legal regime of administrative contracts, are not permissible since the administration is bound by the principle of legality.
The thesis critically examines administrative contracts in Slovenian law from the perspective of (domestic and foreign) administrative doctrine, case law, and normative regulation. It focuses on the specific features of administrative contracts in terms of their conclusion, performance, termination, invalidity, and legal protection, and makes some proposals de lege ferenda.
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