Samorząd gospodarczy/en

ECONOMIC SELF-GOVERNMENT – non-territorial, public-law compulsory unions existing as economic unions. A strictly defined area of economic activity of a certain group of people who, in an organised and authoritative manner, perform the decentralized part of the public administration on a par with the organs of local government, is subject to their impact. Based on these assumptions, any activity which is limited to advisory functions in public affairs or solely to the replacement of the interests of certain groups of entrepreneurs, should be excluded from the scope of e.s.g. The confusion between self-government entities having a certain administrative authority with associations operating in the sphere of economy is an undesirable tendency, introducing organisational and competence confusion, which in effect can lead to the disavow of the idea of e.s.g. The potential of e.s.g. lies in its public-law character. It should thus be a democratically elected, universal and possibly apolitical representation of the entrepreneurial community, a partner of both the government administration and the local government. So defined e.s.g. must fulfil two types of tasks: 1. those entrusted clearly by the state, i.e. by laws and regulations, within which it appears on behalf of the state and cooperates with government and local-government authorities; 2. those consisting in independent support and satisfaction of the interest of a given economic group, including the freedom of action and the right to independent decision, as well as the right to self-determination of norms within the statutory limits. The institutions of e.s.g. primarily include chambers of industry and commerce, craft, and agriculture. These organisations have a scope of tasks defined by law that are performed self-sufficiently and independently from other public administration entities. The scope of these tasks is a measure of the decentralization of state administration in the economic sphere; it is also an expression of the state’s confidence in the obligation of civic participation in the chambers, as well as the belief that it is more competent in local economy matters than government administration officials [ R. Kmieciak ].

Literature: R. Kmieciak, Samorząd gospodarczy w Polsce. Rozważania na temat modelu ustrojowego, Poznań 2004 ■ R. Kmieciak, P. Antkowiak, K. Walkowiak, Samorząd gospodarczy i zawodowy w systemie politycznym Polski, Warszawa 2012 ■ R. Kmieciak, P. Antkowiak, A. Jaskulski, Pożądany kierunek zmian modelu samorządu gospodarczego w Polsce. Rozważania na podstawie projektu ustawy o izbach przemysłowo-handlowych, Warszawa – Poznań 2016.