Potentials of Administrative Procedures as a Participatory Tool within Governance Models in Central and Eastern Europe

Good public governance requires participative networking to tackle the worst societal problems. Redefined administrative procedure as an instrument that should ensure efficient public policies is one of the key approaches in this respect. The objective of this article is to show, based on qualitative research methods, that in modern public administration, procedure is attributed a much different role than under the traditional Rechtsstaat doctrine. It has been evolving towards becoming a dialogue tool for the state and the citizens, increasingly recognised in Neo-Weberian and good governance models, also in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Administrative procedure’s modernised codification in CEE countries, grounded in public administration theory, EU and case law, is in this article seen as of the utmost importance to apply in the region to develop its governance capacity. The article addresses said issues and provides a specific outline as to how to systematically and proportionally codify administrative procedural law in this sense on a national scale. The author proposes a concrete, holistic outline to redefine respective codification within contemporary public governance models. This outline incorporates minimum joint fundamental principles, e.g. the right to be heard. Following the principle of proportionality, in addition a more detailed codification is suggested by more formalised proceedings in the case of the collision of legally protected interests. The principles, such as participation, would apply for any administrative acts, resulting from legislative policy-making or single-case decision-making, and judicial reviews thereof alike. Such an approach should ensure a balanced recognition and effective protection of parties and public interest.