The Openness of the Commune’s Financial Administration

Abstract

The principle of openness of public administration is one of the basic principles in a democratic state. The openness of public administration is also regarded as its fundamental value. It defines the standards of administrative activity, access to information and the controlling functions of citizens, and builds trust in a public authority. The aim of the article is to present legal regulations concerning the openness of the commune in its financial administration. The paper presents the principle of openness of public administration, the dimensions of openness in the practice of communes, the relevant standards arising from the substantive law regulations, as well as selected international experience in this area. Therefore, the choice of the subject of the analysis was dictated by a gap in the legal literature. This is an additional premise that justifies undertaking the indicated research tasks. Against the background of the applicable legal provisions, it should be considered whether the actions taken by the legislator allowed for the creation of a properly functioning model of transparency in the financial management of a commune. Over the years, it has undergone some transformations, which may cause freedom or lack of the possibility of a logically correct, functional, and systemically consistent interpretation. The set goals determined the choice of the layout of the study and research methods. The work assumes methodological pluralism. The two main research methods used in the work are the dogmatic-legal method and the theoretical-legal method. The historical-legal method and legal functionalism were used as an auxiliary, which allowed to present the subject of research from the point of view of its evolution, and thus obtain a full picture of the discussed issues.