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Papers by Tina Sever

Transylvanian review of administrative sciences, Oct 28, 2022

Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences

Fakulteta za upravo, 2010

Modern society requires networking oriented public administration. One of its most basic and ofte... more Modern society requires networking oriented public administration. One of its most basic and often mode of providing public services and public authorities is an administrative procedure, in most EU countries as in Slovenia understood as an authoritative individual decision-making on parties’ rights, legal benefits and obligations. In AP parties are put a priori in subordinated position due to the primary pursuance of public interest; therefore the enactment of procedure is important for protection of parties’ procedural safeguards and furthermore developing partnerships within the notions of collaborative state and good administration, emphasizing participation between the authorities and the citizens. The latter in the form of the right of the parties to be heard in the procedures enables them to influence the course of proceedings and its results. It is thus vital element of rule of law and dignity protection as fundamental grounds for excellence in public service performance. In...

Rad predstavlja komparativnu analizu materije izdavanja građevinskih dozvola u Sloveniji i Hrvats... more Rad predstavlja komparativnu analizu materije izdavanja građevinskih dozvola u Sloveniji i Hrvatskoj s posebnim naglaskom na proceduralan pitanja i kapacitet javne uprave za provedbu novog zakonodavstva. Naglasavaju se dobra praksu obje komparirane zemlje i daju rjesenja za poboljsanje regulacijskog okvira analizirane materije. Rad je objavljen u zborniku radova sa savjetovanja XXII. Dnevi slovenske uprave – Slovenski javni sektor na razpotju strateskih sprememb koje je održano u rujnu 2015. godine na Fakultetu za upravu u Ljubljani.

The administrative silence is unlawful and unethical conduct of public authorities that threatens... more The administrative silence is unlawful and unethical conduct of public authorities that threatens the public interest and the rights of the parties. According to the Slovenian Procedure Act, silence occurs when an authority fails to issue an act to complete the procedure in due time. GAPA sets a general time limit of two months. The Slovenian system mostly follows the German model of negative fiction, providing the party the right to appeal. In addition, the devolution of competence applies ex officio when the delay could be detrimental to the life and health of people, to the environment, or to property. The results show it is reasonable to introduce legal fiction of positive silence to a limited extent in individual acts governing special rights. Finally, administrative silence in Slovenia has been a recurrent issue for several years, especially in certain sectors, such as social affairs.

The purpose of administrative procedure is to resolve conflicts between public and private intere... more The purpose of administrative procedure is to resolve conflicts between public and private interests, in particular when pursuing parties’ rights of positive status. Contrary to civil matters, parties need to firstly enforce their rights before the administrative authority of first instance; furthermore they can file an appeal to the second instance. Exhaustion of the appeal is in most legal systems procedural prerequisite to file court action, meaning there will elapse some time before receiving final and enforceable act to exercise rights. Parties have in administrative matters a right to access to the court and fair trial in reasonable time-limits as defined in constitutions, envisaging judicial procedure, in majority of states before specialised Administrative Court in accordance with Articles 6 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Taking the comparative approach with supraand national normative and European Court of Human Rights case law analysis, paper pro...

The emphasis of the voluntary tax compliance instrument seems to be based on the characteristics ... more The emphasis of the voluntary tax compliance instrument seems to be based on the characteristics of good public governance or good administration, such as more partnership-like, preventive, open, co-operative, responsible and decentralised. The main idea is to improve relations between taxpayers and tax authorities and consequently increase transparency and co-operation between these two parties in a way to resolve any tax issues in a timely manner. The survey of in-depth interviews was made among tax consultants on benefits and deficiencies of the instrument in respect of rule of law. The findings show that taxpayers find this instrument positive, since it forces them to identify tax risk and establish internal tax controls, which improves their business process, and contributes to transparency. However, main lack is not clear definition by law of content of these controls. Finally, they would like to get some more help from tax authority on their legal questions, besides solving t...

Principles are fundamental value base of any legal regulation to be followed in its design and in... more Principles are fundamental value base of any legal regulation to be followed in its design and interpretation in any legal procedure. This paper explores administrative procedural law principles as a tool to make operational the basic constitutional safeguards for the protection of individuals from abuse of power. Since the modernization process of regulation of public administration (PA) is nowadays more heading towards reducing detailed rules on every step of PA’s business process, i.e. administrative proceedings (AP), giving more emphasis on general principles, we analysed the development and the state of art of fundamental AP principles in general administrative procedures acts (GAPA) of selected countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Czech Republic. Despite common heritage of Austrian GAPA of 1925, countries took different approaches and pace as regards the reform of the APs; some taking more modernized or radical approach than the others. But a...

Danube, 2018

The effectiveness of procedure is important for parties (e.g. citizens or business entities) to b... more The effectiveness of procedure is important for parties (e.g. citizens or business entities) to be able to exercise their rights in due time and is a key foundation of the rule of law. A State with an effective legal system provides a business-friendly environment, which is appealing for investments. The State decides on permits, licenses, taxes, etc. by applying administrative procedure. The aim of the paper is to identify and analyse such matters under public (administrative) law at the national level, which – due to their influence on private rights or obligations – fall under the civil or criminal limb of Article 6 of the ECHR and its requirements, as well as the requirements of Article 13. By means of a case study and descriptive-analytical and normative methods, the paper identifies comparatively selected cases and analyses the ECtHR test regarding reasonable time, focusing on overall procedure duration and the awarded compensations. The findings show that the ECtHR does not d...

DANUBE, 2020

The pursuit of global competitiveness requires a complex system of measures that enable the promo... more The pursuit of global competitiveness requires a complex system of measures that enable the promotion of business. Yet this goal is strongly hindered by interdisciplinary (legal, economic, managerial, IT) red tape programs in both national and supranational frameworks. The aim of the paper is to enhance the understanding of red tape by identifying key sector-specific problems in administrative areas that are crucial for SMEs and offer suggestions for improvement. The paper explores measures related to red tape in the Slovenian and European contexts based on the understanding that transparent regulation with efficient procedures is a precondition for a business-friendly environment that attracts investments. The research is based on a combination of empirical methods applied to a base of over 900 surveys collected from Slovenian SMEs in 2016 and 2017. The results show that entrepreneurs see the greatest administrative burdens in the area of accounting and financial reports, especiall...

Water, Governance, and Crime Issues, 2020

Slovenia is a country abundant in water resources. Like in other countries, legal regulation for ... more Slovenia is a country abundant in water resources. Like in other countries, legal regulation for water protection and its governance is complex. This chapter presents the selected constitutional and administrative law perspectives on water protection in Slovenia. Slovenia is one of the few countries in the world, which regulates the right to drinking water at a constitutional level. However, part of this regulation lacks clarity and new sector specific legislation still has not been adopted and harmonised. The institutional setting of water governance and its legal regulation are complex, too. Legislation implementation, especially supervision, faces challenges in relation to human resources management and regulatory activities.

Central European Public Administration Review, 2018

Accountability is one of the fundamental principles of good governance, defined in various intern... more Accountability is one of the fundamental principles of good governance, defined in various international documents. It is a broad term, which can include different levels of public administration performance, from organisation, relevant regulation, internal and external supervision, transparency to tort liability, etc. The paper focuses on procedural aspects, i.e. decision-making in administrative matters. The latter is usually regulated by an administrative procedure act, which can include among fundamental principles also the principle of accountability. However, other procedural guarantees, e.g. lawfulness, equality, impartiality, proportionality, legal certainty, taking action within a reasonable time, contribute to responsible decision-making as well. In case they are infringed, the state should recognise accountability and have in place an efficient control system providing parties with effective (legal) remedies (e.g. possibility to appeal to the line ministry; administrative...

Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, 2016

Construction permitting and spatial regulations are important for the functioning of modern socie... more Construction permitting and spatial regulations are important for the functioning of modern society as regards enabling basic social needs, the right to a healthy living environment and the possibility to promote business and economic growth. However, what is typical of these real life situations is a collision of several private interests and the public interest. In order to protect the latter, the state needs to set certain limitations also by means of regulations and to ensure the appropriate administrative capacity to implement them. Moreover, the right and possibility to build is important for sustainable regional development. The article addresses the profiles of Slovenia and Croatia, in particular their procedural aspects and administrative systems’ efficiency in the field of construction. The results show that both countries regulate their construction procedures similarly, with a special focus on the simplification of administrative procedures. As such, they continually try...

International Journal of Public Policy, 2016

NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, 2016

In administrative matters, the parties usually have a right of access to the court and to a fair ... more In administrative matters, the parties usually have a right of access to the court and to a fair trial within a reasonable time limit, as defined by constitutions, only after the exhaustion of appeals. Judicial review is performed in a majority of states by a specialised administrative court in accordance with Articles 6 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Based on a comparative research analysis of supranational and national normative law and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law, this paper provides insight into the extent to which administrative matters can be reviewed in administrative disputes as well as into the legal remedies available to the parties, especially when the authorities violate time limits, focusing on the compliance of the regulation in Slovenia and Croatia with the ECHR standards. The paper also illustrates a comparative perspective of regulation in other European countries, namely Austria and Estonia. Our findings show the impor...

Public Administration and the Modern State, 2014

In a classic sense, administrative procedure is primarily a way in which the parties that are the... more In a classic sense, administrative procedure is primarily a way in which the parties that are the bearers of legally recognized interests assert such interests on an operational level. In such a context, administrative procedure is also a tool to ensure the democratic nature of relations between the authorities and their subjects, allowing the parties to defend themselves whenever the authorities unjustly refuse to recognize certain rights or impose (too many) obligations without due legal basis. In order to avoid such occurrences, the parties — being in an a priori subordinate position in their relation with the authorities — enjoy several procedural safeguards already in the course of the procedure itself. However, new elements have recently emerged in administrative relations, such as the transfer of sovereign state powers to the European Union, privatized implementation of public tasks outside direct state administration, and the delegation of value-based decision making from (once only) parliament to lower authorities. These elements all call for new methods of public governance (Barnes, 2011, p. 339). Since administrative procedures are considered a typical tool, manner, or method to implement public policies, they need to keep up with these changes, as the method should follow the content. Moreover, the administrative procedure is also a tool used to fulfill the mission of administrative institutions and, as such, a key element for evaluating the effectiveness of the system and identifying possible improvements.

DANUBE: Law and Economics Review, 2015

Administrative procedures (APs) are tools to protect fundamental human rights in statecitizen rel... more Administrative procedures (APs) are tools to protect fundamental human rights in statecitizen relations. As the modernization of public administration regulation is undergoing a transformation in the direction of reducing detailed rules on APs and, by the same token, emphasizing fundamental or general principles, research on the development and the state of the art of administrative principles in the general administrative procedure acts (APAs) of selected Eastern Europe countries with a common heritage of Austrian law dating back to 1925 (Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and the Czech Republic) was carried out. The normative-comparative analysis reveals differences in approaches to and the pace of APAs reform and content; some countries are taking a more radical approach, mainly by following good governance dimensions. Convergence based on Council of Europe and EU initiatives is also evident. Classical guarantees against the misuse of power (principles of legality, equality, proportion...