Administrative procedure is defined as the procedure used in deciding on administrative matters according to the General Administrative Procedure Act (ZUP), that can be prescribed only by law. The purpose of the administrative procedure is to meet public and individual needs. The procedure on the rights, obligations and legal benefits of natural or legal persons shall be decided by the competent authority. When deciding on administrative matters, the following bodies shall act according to the administrative procedure: state administration bodies, other state entities, local self-governing communities, holders of public powers.
A remedy is a means defined by the constitution, enabling the initiation of an assessment procedure and determination of the compliance particular administrative act with the law or. The purpose of legal remedies is to ensure accurate and equitable work in administrative affairs, in a both formal and material sense. Legal remedies can be classified as regular remedies and extraordinary remedies.
We are talking about the appeals if a specific administrative act at the first instance (not yet become binding) has been challenged. Under the General Administrative Procedure Act, the only regular remedy is an appeal. The right to appeal is held by a party or any other person if the decision has prejudiced its rights and legal benefits. Otherwise, the public prosecutor and the state attorney may object to the decision that interferes with public benefit.
Extraordinary legal remedies are used when all regular remedies have been exhausted. According to the ZUP, there are five extraordinary legal remedies: reopening of a procedure, amendment and abolition of a decision related to administrative dispute, abolition and repeal of the decision upon official control, extraordinary annulment of a decision, and declaring a decision null. My thesis also examined selected legal remedies upon the sectoral legislation. I chose the Tax Procedure Act (ZDavP-2) and the Pension and Disability Insurance Act (ZPIZ-2) because certain legal remedies are regulated in a way different to the ZUP.
The purpose of my thesis is the normative examination and comparison of legal remedies upon the General Administrative Procedure Act (ZUP), selected sectoral laws (the Tax Procedure Act (ZDavP-2) and the Pension and Disability Insurance Act (ZPIZ-2)) with
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suggestions how to improve and reduce existing formalities due to administrative procedures. The reasons for writing my thesis arose in the question as to why such a high degree of justification for the legal remedy is required and why the deadlines for the excercise of such remedies are so long. In preparing the thesis, I primarily use the descriptive method of work in combination with comparative method and normative analysis. Likewise, I will add the classification and deduction method and synthesis.
In the analytical part of my research, the first hypothesis was confirmed. I have found that the high level of the substance places the party to legal proceedings in a less advantageous position, since the grounds of appeal are listed in Article 237 of the General Administrative Procedure Act (ZUP) in terms which may not be understandable to the average citizen of Slovenia to whom an administrative decision was addressed. The second hypothesis, however, was not confirmed. I believe that the 15-day deadline for filing an appeal is appropriate and does not affect the time duration of the procedure to such an extent as do the deadlines for extraordinary legal remedies, which are longer and tied to meet certain criteria. Although they are longer, these periods are essential for the nature of the remedies and the particular protection they represent for the parties to the proceedings.
The remedies shall be used only in accordance with the law and have a positive effect on the social environment since they provide protection of rights, legal and public benefits.
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