Advancing the legal competences of public officials through the Administrative Consultation Platform : a conceptual and empirical approach

Mar, Špela (author), Kristl, Nina (author), Murko, Eva (author), Buzeti, Jernej (author), Kovač, Polonca (author)

Purpose: This article examines the development of the legal competences of public officials within the Slovenian public administration who use the Administrative Consultation Platform (ACP) when conducting procedures under the General Administrative Procedure Act (GAPA). The ACP is an open-access legal clinic that serves as a supplementary source for interpreting procedural rules. To this end, a conceptual framework delineating legal competences for public officials was developed to assess how the use of the ACP affects the development of their acquired legal competences for the purposes of conducting administrative procedures. Based on this framework, a structural model was created to enable empirical testing of the impact of public officials’ affinity for the ACP and the frequency of its use on the development of their technical-legal and entrepreneurial-relational competences. Design/methodology/approach: The theoretical component employs normative, doctrinal, and comparative research methods to study legal competence models in the existing literature. The empirical component includes statistical analysis of data collected using a questionnaire measuring the technical-legal and entrepreneurial-relational competences of public officials who use the ACP, combined with an axiological-deontological evaluation of the results. Structural equation modelling was used to verify how affinity for the ACP and the frequency of its use when conducting administrative procedures affect the development of their legal competences. Findings: The empirical study conducted in spring 2025 involved 112 public officials who conducted administrative procedures in administrative bodies and used the ACP between 2023 and 2025. The results indicate that the use of the ACP contributed significantly to the development of public officials’ legal competences, particularly relational competences, such as the ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with parties involved in the administrative procedure, and entrepreneurial competences, especially the ability to uphold core ethical principles (e.g., integrity) and proactively seek solutions that balance the public interest with parties’ rights. However, they developed technical-legal competences— such as legal reasoning for resolving procedural issues, understanding of the GAPA, and data protection regulation—to a lesser, though still not negligible, degree. Academic contribution to the field: The article focuses on relatively under-explored aspects of public officials’ legal competences. The conceptual framework represents an original contribution, complementing existing research on legal competences in a narrower context, while in a broader context it can be categorised as dealing with the subjects of administrative law and public administration. The empirical study advances scientific understanding of the impact of public officials’ affinity for the ACP and the frequency of its use on the development of their legal competences, providing key feedback for ACP stakeholders. Research/practical/social implications: The conceptual framework of legal competences serves as the foundation for further scholarly examination of the legal competences possessed by public officials and functions as a baseline for the systematic upgrading of the ACP to continue fostering the development of public officials’ legal competences while they use it. From a societal perspective, this article contributes to raising awareness of the critical importance of cultivating legal competences and of the effective utilisation of the ACP as an instrument for more participatory and problem-solving-oriented administrative decision-making processes. Originality/significance/value: The article offers an original contribution by (1) establishing a conceptual framework that advances the study of legal competences among public officials who use the ACP when conducting administrative procedures, and (2) demonstrating the pivotal role of the ACP as a repository of accumulated collective knowledge, which aids public officials in developing their legal competences and facilitates the networking of stakeholders engaged in addressing administrative law challenges. The findings provide guidelines for enhancing the effectiveness of public officials and for fulfilling the objectives and principles of Good Governance in modern public administration.

• Language: English
• Keywords: public officials, legal competences, Administrative Consultation Platform, legal clinic, administrative procedural law
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 31-61
• Numbering: Vol. 23, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-176859
• UDC: 35:342.9(497.4)"2023/2025"
• ISSN on article: 2591-2240
• DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2025.2.02
• COBISS.SI-ID: 257939203
• Publication date in RUL: 11.12.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Central European public administration review
• Shortened title: CEPAR
• Publisher: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Administration, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani, = University of Ljubljana Press
• ISSN: 2591-2240
• COBISS.SI-ID: 293849600

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Nadgradnja pravnih kompetenc javnih uslužbencev prek Upravne svetovalnice

Abstract

Namen: članek preučuje razvoj pravnih kompetenc uradnih oseb v slovenski javni upravi, ki pri vodenju postopkov po Zakonu o splošnem upravnem postopku (ZUP) uporabljajo Upravno svetovalnico (US). US je odprtodostopna pravna klinika, ki je dopolnilni vir za razlago procesnih pravil. V ta namen je bil razvit konceptualni okvir pravnih kompetenc uradnih oseb, s katerim se ocenjuje, kako uporaba US vpliva na razvoj njihovih pridobljenih pravnih kompetenc za potrebe vodenja upravnih postopkov. Na podlagi tega okvirja je bil oblikovan strukturni model, ki omogoča empirično preverjanje vpliva naklonjenosti uradnih osebdo US in pogostosti njene uporabe na razvoj njihovih tehnično-pravnih ter podjetniško-odnosnih kompetenc. Zasnova/metodologija/pristop: teoretični del uporablja normativne, doktrinarne in primerjalne raziskovalne metode za proučevanje modelov pravnih kompetenc v literaturi. Empirični del vključuje statistično analizo podatkov, zbranih z vprašalnikom za merjenje tehnično-pravnih in podjetniško-odnosnih kompetenc uradnih oseb, ki uporabljajo US, v kombinaciji z aksiološko-deontološko oceno rezultatov. Za preverjanje, kako naklonjenost US in pogostost njene uporabe pri vodenju upravnih postopkov vplivata na razvoj njihovih pravnih kompetenc, je bilo uporabljeno modeliranje strukturnih enačb. Ugotovitve: empirična raziskava, izvedena spomladi 2025, je zajela 112 uradnih oseb, ki so v obdobju 2023–2025 vodili upravne postopke v upravnih organih in uporabljali US. Rezultati kažejo, da je uporaba US pomembno pripomogla k razvoju pravnih kompetenc uradnih oseb, zlasti odnosnih kompetenc, kot so zmožnost učinkovitega in spoštljivega komuniciranja s strankami v postopku, ter podjetniških kompetenc, predvsem zmožnosti spoštovanja temeljnih etičnih načel (na primer integritete) in proaktivnega iskanja rešitev ob upoštevanju ravnotžja med javnim interesom in pravicami strank. Tehnično-pravne kompetence – kot so sposobnost pravnega argumentiranja, rešitev procesnih problemov, razumevanje ZUP in predpisov o varstvu podatkov – so se razvijale v manjši, toda kljub temu ne zanemarljivi meri. Akademski prispevek k področju: članek se osredotoča na razmeroma premalo raziskane vidike pravnih kompetenc uradnih oseb. Konceptualni okvir je izviren prispevek, ki dopolnjuje obstoječe raziskave o pravnih kompetencah v ožjem kontekstu, v širšem pa ga je mogoče uvrstiti med tematike upravnega prava in javne uprave. Empirična raziskava poglablja znanstveno razumevanje vpliva naklonjenosti do US in pogostosti njene uporabe na razvoj pravnih kompetenc uradnih oseb ter zagotavlja ključno povratno informacijo deležnikom US. Raziskovalne/praktične/družbene implikacije: konceptualni okvir pravnih kompetenc je temelj za nadaljnje znanstveno proučevanje pravnih kompetenc uradnih oseb in izhodišče za sistematično nadgrajevanje US, da bo tudi v prihodnje spodbujala razvoj pravnih kompetenc uporabnikov. Z družbenega vidika članek pripomore k dvigu zavedanja o ključnem pomenu razvoja pravnih kompetenc in učinkovite uporabe US kot orodja za bolj participativne in k reševanju problemov usmerjene upravne postopke. Izvirnost/pomembnost/vrednost: članek ponuja izviren prispevek z (1.) vzpostavitvijo konceptualnega okvira, ki pripomore k preučevanju pravnih kompetenc uradnih oseb, ki pri vodenju upravnih postopkov uporabljajo US, ter (2.) prikazom osrednje vloge US kot vira akumuliranega kolektivnega znanja, ki uradnim osebam pomaga razvijati pravne kompetence in olajšuje medsebojno povezovanje deležnikov na področju upravnopravnih dilem. Ugotovitve ponujajo smernice za krepitev delovanja uradnih oseb ter za uresničevanja ciljev in načel dobrega upravljanja v sodobni javni upravi.

• Keywords: javni uslužbenci, pravne kompetence, Upravna svetovalnica, pravna klinika, upravnoprocesno pravo