Samorząd terytorialny jako użyteczny element ustrojowy państwa z punktu widzenia interesu jednostki
Local government as a useful political element of the state from the point of view of the interest of an individual

Summary/Abstract: The role played by local government reactivated in 1990 in the process of constitutional transformation at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s is beyond dispute. The participation of local government in the systematic improvement of the quality of collective life of local communities should be considered equally obvious and significant. On the other hand, it is no longer entirely clear whether any tangible benefits resulting from the functioning of local government in the public administration system can be enjoyed by an individual entity (resident, entrepreneur, tourist, etc.). The Author indicates three key reasons why the presence of local government in the public administration system is also in the interest of an individual. First, normative conditions, together with the social reality they shape, give grounds for recognizing that the existence of local government in the public administration system significantly contributes to the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity. This principle underlies the establishment of state-social relations, serving, among others, protecting the freedom of the individual and at the same time its security. Secondly, the performance of a significant part of public tasks by local government significantly contributes to the demonopolization of power in the state and in this context can be perceived as an ally of an individual in the pursuit of maintaining or recovering areas of broadly understood power derived currently from the constitutional guarantees of the freedoms and rights of an individual, including parental authority, or authority over its property. Thirdly, the activity of self-governing municipalities, districts and voivodships triggers competition in the area of public tasks, due to the considerable independ- ence that self-government units have in regard to the organization, ways and methods of implementing these tasks. Competition in the area of public tasks increases the quality of their performance. The level of the quality of satisfying the collective needs of local government communities determines the level of the quality of life of individual entities.

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