Rule Of Law And The Agency Model Of Administration Cover Image

Владавина права и агенцијски модел управе
Rule Of Law And The Agency Model Of Administration

Author(s): Predrag Dimitrijević, Jelena Vučković
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Универзитет у Нишу
Keywords: rule of law; separation of powers; agencies; administration

Summary/Abstract: In order to fully understand the agency model of administration, it is necessary to start from a basic legal principle: rule of law and the separation of powers principle, or the ―checks and balances‖ system, which prevents excessive independence of any of the three main branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) and enables their mutual control. There is much theoretical disagreement over whether agencies constitute a separate and relatively independent branch of government and whether their presence in the institutional arena violates the principles of separation of powers and institutional independence, which underlie the other branches of government. We believe that the existence of agencies, combined with the particular competence they have (administrative, legislative, and quasi-judicial), is contrary to the fundamental principles of separation of powers because it disrupts the ― pure‖ division of state powers into the relatively independent legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The capacity of agency autonomy and their real power changes over time because it depends on a number of economic, political, and other factors. It is important that the ―checks and balances‖ system is working, and that there are institutions that influence, control, and direct the agencies, just as they themselves operate through the process of institutional agencification. Nowadays, there is a clearly visible trend of de-agencification in many European states as an indicator of reestablished balance and control, reflected in the emergence of agencies that are under direct control of the executive branch of government (ministries). This implies that strong autonomy is abandoned in favor of legal ontrol and the idea of the rule of law.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 1797-1816
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Serbian