Klaipėdos universitetas

The problem of quality of governance is one of the most important issues raised nowadays by international and local organisations. In order to adapt to the rapid processes of globalisation and glocalisation, various methods are being sought to optimise forms of democratic governance in Western countries or among countries which are leaning towards the West. The aim of the article is to increase government accountability and responsibility, promote citizen involvement, and strengthen government-societal relations and trust. In order to achieve this goal, the European Union proposes to give more powers to local government institutions, because they are closest to the citizens, can more effectively assess their needs, and attain them more effectively. To achieve this goal, the 12 principles of Good Governance, recommended by the Council of Europe, are used, and ELoGE (European Label of Governance Excellence) is used as a tool to assess the existence of these principles in local government. The purpose of this article is to identify factors that determine the implementation of the principles in local government, and to ascertain the most important characteristics that would influence the implementation of Good Governance in local government, taking into account the ELoGE evaluation methodology.

The main objective of this study is to show the willingness of citizens to act through the prism of opportunities offered by participation at the local level. Citizens’ activity in public life is the core of democracy. Their engagement may assume various forms, among which the most common form is participation in elections. When it comes to direct democracy, participation in referendums is most widespread. However, an element of democracy, which is cognitively equally important as the above ones, results from citizens’ engagement in institutional activity through membership in political parties, trade unions, non-governmental organisations or local associations. It is also worth mentioning the participation expressed through signing of petitions, taking part in demonstrations or involvement in local initiatives. Having considered all the above data, one can state that it is clearly visible who undertakes political participation in Poland more often, and for whom this is a less frequent activity. This analysis with its conclusions seems to be a crucial suggestion for people who would like to take effective steps in order to increase citizens’ engagement in politics.

The system of local governments financing, which is used in Estonia is based on personal income tax and supports paid by the state. A system of that kind creates enormous inequality between the local governments. The continuing decrease of income taxes and the increase of tax-free minimum arises the role of state supports. Central government reduced essentially the part of income taxes assigned for local governments and supports in 2007–2010. That’s why the municipalities met a difficult economic situation. The greatest costs for municipalities is education. Government has taken a course to abolishing rural schools. As the analyses demonstrate the schools are enormous source of incomes for municipalities. Therefore the abolishment of schools would made the financial situation of municipalities worse even more. A special method wasn’t created for the analysis. The classical economic means – tables, indexes and marginal analyses were used.

The article provides an analysis of legislation pertaining to the protection of human rights provided by units of local government. The author characterises the key issues relating to the protection of rights and freedom of the individual in a democratic state, highlighting the role of local government administration. Admittedly, public authorities may cause infringements of individual rights and freedoms, but they can also take actions resulting in the increased protection of these values. The analysis also reconstructs a model of human rights protection, shaped at the level of local government structures and based on the Constitution. The author provides an assessment of legal patterns defining the limits of the protection of human rights executed by local government structures, and formulates postulates in this area, suggesting desired directions for change. Also analysed is the relationship between the constitutional framework safeguarding the independence of local government structures, and tools for the protection of human rights developed in the course of the functioning of local government units on one hand, and the practice of their application on the other. Thus, the publication presents rules and mechanisms for the functioning of local government administration in the context of weighing the significance of the protection of human rights in the current circumstances in Poland.