Introduction. The subject of the study is the novelties of the draft federal law “On the general principles of organizing local self-government in a single system of public authority” in terms of the ...legal regulation of direct municipal democracy. It is distinguished by a signifi cant reduction in the existing forms of direct participation of the population in the implementation of local self-government, while not off ering any new ones. Though in the course of the development of the state and society in Russia over the past two decades, new democratic mechanisms and tools have appeared. Empirical analysis. The authors analyzed the current legislative norms regulating the forms of direct democracy at the level of local self-government and provided a legal assessment of the reduction of their list in the given draft law. The researchers revealed the necessity of preserving the institution of voting on the recall of elected persons of local self-government, which is at the same time one of the types of municipal legal responsibility, in the draft law. In search of additional forms of direct democracy at the local level, the institution of public control was considered. Understanding its goals and objectives through the prism of local self-government indicated that it can act as an eff ective tool for the population in assessing the activities of municipal authorities. Results. The study concludes by proposing to supplement the forms of citizens’ participation in the implementation of local self-government, enshrined in the named bill, with a new form of “public control over the activities of local self-government bodies”.
The relevance of the problem stated in the article is due to the world experience shows that the development and well-being of the state at the same time largely depends on the development of local ...self-government, on its independence in solving local problems. Since Kazakhstan gained independence from the state, reforms have been carried out to promote the effective implementation of the local institution. It is also necessary to evaluate the experience of foreign countries in the development of local self-government. The experience of foreign countries in the development of local self-government allows us to conclude that when certain conditions are created, they can successfully adapt to the practice of local self-government in Kazakhstan. The purpose of the research is to reveal the essence of the key problems that, according to the author, make it difficult to effectively introduce the institution of local self-government into the social and political life. The theoretical basis of the research is the essence and structure analysis of localself-government. The author concludes that the lack of a decision on the choice of a holistic model of local self-government is the main problem of its development. The current model of local self-government in the Republic of Kazakhstan does not fit into any of the models of local self-government (Anglo-Saxon, continental, mixed). The practical significanceof the research lies in the use of theoretical ideas, proposals and conclusions by state bodies in the development of regulations aimed at improving local self-government in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The paper refers to the social innovation of participatory budgeting which has become a very popular tool for stimulating citizen participation at the local level in Poland. It focuses on the major ...cities, defined as capitals of the voivodeships or regions. Based on the data concerning 2018 participatory budgeting editions in the eighteen cities, it describes the funding, organisation of the process, forms of voting and voter participation as well as the nature of projects selected and implemented. According to the amended Act on the Local Self-Government, organisation of participatory budgeting will only be obligatory for Polish cities from 2019. Despite that fact, it has already become quite popular and broadly applied in local communities. However, citizens’ participation and involvement in the process seems quite low, suggesting a need for experience sharing and improvement of the initiative. Also, project selection reflects the influence of various social groups within urban communities, rather than assisting groups which are at risk of marginalisation.
E-government refers to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve functions and processes of the government and it is one of the most frequently researched topics. In ...current research, the use of ICT at the local self-government level is mostly associated with processes that take place between the organization and the citizens, i. e. e-services. Internal processes of public administration organizations, like administering and leading employees using ICT, have been insufficiently taken into account. However, it has so far received less attention, especially in the context of local self-government. Although first studies on this topic already exist in Lithuania, the systematic analysis of e-leadership concept and practice in municipal administrations is still lacking both in Lithuania and abroad. This study examines how e-leadership refers to e-government and what are features of e-leadership at local self-government that should be taken into account when considering leadership issues in the context of digitization at local self-government. The study has revealed that previous e-government dimensions are usually directed outwards, i. e. to the relations with citizens by providing them with e-services or general information, by participating them into the processes of public administration organizations. In difference to that, e-leadership represents a dimension of e-government that focuses on internal processes, i. e. human resource management in the public sector when digitalisation is taking place. During the COVID-19 pandemic period eleadership has become an integral part of public sector institutions, including local self-government. E-leadership at local self-government has already required and still requires new skills from municipal leaders and managers to ensure organizational processes, to move quickly and efficiently to new channels and platforms of communication, to adapt to new political, social and technological environments, to learn how to allocate more autonomy, responsibility and freedom to employees, and to manage the emotional and psychological difficulties of employees. The peculiarities of eleadership at local self-government result from the national legal framework, the institutional structure (based on the political-administrative duality), the purpose of public administration to promptly respond to local citizens’ expectations, and the pursuit of efficiency using limited organizational resources.
The essence of administrative and territorial reform and decentralization reform in Ukraine is to move away from a centralized model of government in the state, ensure the ability of local ...self-government and build an effective system of territorial power organization in Ukraine based on the principles of subsidiarity, omnipresence and financial self-sufficiency of local self-government. The purpose of the article is to identify areas for improving the effectiveness of the administrative-territorial reform in Ukraine based on assessing the results of its financial decentralization component. Peculiarities of changing the territorial basis of local self-government in Ukraine investigate the necessity of moving from a voluntary amalgamation of territorial communities to the stage of their formation according to clearly defined criteria and providing opportunities for the development of such communities in the future. It focuses on the need to consolidate areas and change the system of interaction of the subregional level with the amalgamated territorial communities at a basic level.
In modern history, public authority has expanded its political and legal interpretation. By an amendment to the Constitution of the Russian Federation from 2020 on improving the regulation of certain ...issues of the organization and functioning of public authority, the bodies of local self-government were included among the bodies of public authority. Based on Article 132 of the RF Constitution, LSG bodies entered the unified system of public authority in the Russian Federation and began to cooperate with state authorities for the most effective resolution of tasks in the interests of the population residing in the respective territory. The European Charter on Local Self-Governance defines and the Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrines the historical and legal basis for the establishment of local self-governance in a particular territory — its autonomy. The cultural and historical peculiarities of the inhabitants of these territories must be taken into account. The people of St Petersburg exercise their constitutional right to exercise power through local government. It has its own cultural code, which is expressed in special history, local customs and traditions, a multinational population, and a multitude of confessions. Local self-government is represented by 111 inner-city municipalities and 1 Council of Municipalities. Local government is regulated by the law on organization of local government in St Petersburg. The degree to which the residents’ right to power, and thus political stability in the region, depends on the quality of the local government’s performance of its powers. The 2019 municipal elections changed the quality of the representative bodies by supplementing them with independent, non-systemic deputies. This circumstance allowed for a different perspective on the specifics of local government and the functioning of LSG bodies. In the opinion of the authors, this renewal is not so much the desire of the population of the metropolis to change the composition of the representative bodies, but rather the consequence of a consistent government policy of centralizing local self-governance. After the incorporation of local self-governance into the system of public authorities and the artificial subordination of its legal nature to the needs of state power, the managerial principle of federal megacities of urban unity became the main reason, exploiting which, as a screen, the state power consistently deprives LSG bodies of independence, reducing the financial basis, the number of issues of local significance, and traditionally local functionality. The article attempts to determine the level of autonomy of LSG bodies of St. Petersburg, the direction of the vector of normative-legal regulation of state power in relation to the constitutional institution, to analyze the results of the findings, to draw conclusions and to assess the level of autonomy of local self-government in the political aspect, as well as the possible consequences of such state policy on the ground. The aim of this article is to provide scientific substantiation of necessity of certain decisions of state power bodies with the aim of preventing governmentalization of local self-government in St. Petersburg, to offer concrete measures for decision-making by state power bodies.
The transition from the administrative system of the Habsburg monarchy to that of the successor nation-states after World War I has traditionally been analysed in terms of discontinuity, or even ...rupture. In our research, which focuses on the specific case of Transylvania, we demonstrate that both the development of a centralised administrative system and the relationship between the state authority and local autonomies were characterised by continuity rather than change. In both the Hungarian and the Romanian state, the key institution involved in the process of diminishing local self-government was the representative of the central power in the territory (the lord lieutenant until 1918 and later the prefect). The gradual expansion of his prerogatives over institutions and county officials began in Hungary in the early 1870s, and continued until the interwar period in Romania; this was a process that extended beyond the changes in the political and state regime in 1918. Thus, for interwar Transylvania, administrative centralisation in the French tradition did not represent a paradigm shift, but instead the continuation and acceleration of an already quite advanced process that the Hungarian state, which had been eager to modernise its administrative structures, had already introduced 50 years earlier.
The purpose of the article is to reveal the reform of the decentralization of power in Ukraine under conditions of war. In the concept of the territorial community of Ukraine, ancient European ...traditions of Ukrainian local self-government and modern standards of the European Union have been successfully embodied. The productive interaction of citizens, the state, and international organizations contributed to formation of Ukrainian territorial communities. It has been proven that the personal income tax is one of the main sources of filling community budgets. For 9 months of 2022 local budgets of the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine received 16,364,124 Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH) as personal income tax, which is 34% more than for the same period in 2021. Methodology: The specifics of the research subject, as well as its purpose and tasks determined the use of general scientific and special methods of scientific cognition. Stabilization and restoration of territorial communities in Ukraine require the introduction of a new three-level effective and transparent system of strategic planning: state strategy — regional strategies — community strategies. For restoration and stimulation of regional development strategizing should contain definition of the following four functional types of territories: territories of recovery, poles of economic growth, territories with special conditions for development, territories of sustainable development.
The European Charter of Local Self-Government (ECLSG) is a cornerstone for local governance, emphasising principles such as autonomy, financial independence, and democratic processes. This article ...assessed the implementation of the ECLSG in Azerbaijan, focusing on legal compliance and institutional adaptation. This study aimed to assess Azerbaijan's level of compliance with the principles established in the ECLSG and to evaluate the extent to which its institutions have been modified to align with the charter's benchmarks. A qualitative research methodology relying on document analysis, legal reviews, and expert interviews was employed in the study. The analysis included a review of pertinent legal documents, reports, and scholarly articles to evaluate the degree of legal adherence and institutional flexibility in Azerbaijan. The findings indicated Azerbaijan has shown advancements in implementing the ECLSG, especially in decentralisation and forming local self-governing entities. However, there are still obstacles to guaranteeing complete legal adherence, including issues related to the autonomy of local governments, boundary protection, and financial resources. The European Charter of Local Self-Government is vital in promoting local democracy and self-government in Europe. It emphasises the autonomy of local authorities and democratic processes at the local level. In Azerbaijan, implementing the ECLSG has led to significant institutional changes, including establishing municipal councils and executive bodies. However, challenges remain, such as limited autonomy, inadequate funding, and shortcomings in the electoral process. Addressing these challenges is crucial for Azerbaijan to comply with the charter and improve local governance fully. The findings suggest that while Azerbaijan has taken steps to align its legal framework with the ECLSG, further reforms are needed to enhance local self-government. Addressing challenges such as central government interference, boundary adjustments, and budget limitations will be essential in achieving complete adherence to the charter and strengthening local governance in Azerbaijan.
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