Encyklopedia Administracji Publicznej MW Pivot Skin

POLITICAL THEORY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT – a theoretical concept whose source was the Hegel’s dialectic method according to which the state and the society are two contradictions conflicted with each other which result from different motivational goals, and an analysis of experiences of Great Britain regarding the local government. The state, in order to counteract the society’s pursuits, creates the so-called self-government, whose task is to subordinate social interests and fulfil state obligations. In Great Britain, the system of the units of local government was built on the principle of deconcentration – it is a system where lower offices are subordinated to higher or central ones which means that their acts are neither final nor independent; however this subordination is not expressed in division into levels. This rejection of decentralization in favour of deconcentration was linked to an assumption that local government should be viewed as a political notion that does not result from any legal rule. An important factor which were to decide about the local-government character was the composition of its bodies. Rudolf von Gneist indicated that it was key that honorary officers, not salaried for their work, took part in the work of self-government bodies. This was supposed to guarantee their independence from parties who had power, and in consequence a complete devotion to serve the local community. This element was so important for Gneist that he rejected the legal personality as a constituting element for local government [ M. Jęczarek ].

Literature: T. Bigo, Związki publiczno-prawne w świetle ustawodawstwa polskiego [Public-law associations in the light of the Polish legislation], Warszawa 1990 ■ J. Panejko, Geneza i podstawy samorządu europejskiego [Genesis and bases of the European self-government], Wilno 1934 ■ S. Wójcik, Samorząd terytorialny w Polsce w XX wieku: myśl samorządowa: historia i współczesność [Local government in Poland in the 20th century: local-government thought: history and modernity], Lublin 2007.