Administrative dualism
Z Encyklopedia Administracji Publicznej
ADMINISTRATIVE DUALISM – the structure of public administration assuming the presence of two administrative divisions – government and local government. They are built on different principles: the government administration (g.a.) is an example of centralized administration, the local-government administration (l.g.a.) – decentralized. In Poland the a.d. exists since 1 January 1999 at the level of the voivodship – it is the local-government unit and at the same time the largest unit of the territorial division of the country in order to perform the public administration. In the voivodship there exist simultaneously the g.a. – carrying out actions for the benefit of the state, understood as a whole, as well as the l.g.a. – carrying out tasks in the regional sphere, on behalf of the local community and under its responsibility (local government has a legal personality separate from the state). They are differentiated by tasks and competences and authorities: voivode in the the g.a., the voivodship board (headed by the marshal) in the l.g.a., as well as official structure: respectively voivodship office and marshal’s office. The a.d. generates certain moot points, even when assessing the measurable effects of the administration, or when implementing the EU programmes and aid funds. In the context of a.d. the → subsidiarity principle is of substantial importance, which requires assigning the public task to the lowest possible level (if it is able to do the job properly). The a.d. also occurs in other European countries (France at the level of departments and municipalities, Germany at the level of municipalities and counties). An example of an inverse structure is the administrative monism, assuming only one public administration structure (example of England) [ J. Wojnicki ].
Literature: H. Izdebski, M. Kulesza, Administracja publiczna: zagadnienia ogólne, Warszaw 2004 ■ E. Ochendowski, Prawo administracyjne; część ogólna, Toruń 2013 ■ Z. Leoński, Nauka o administracji, Warszawa 2010.