The Rulemaking Procedure – Definition, Concepts and Public Participation

The importance of delegated legislation is growing in both the quantitative and qualitative sense. Under the American system, the so-called division of rulemaking authority between the legislative and executive branch was resolved at a very early juncture and in a highly pragmatic manner by applying the fundamental principles of the legislative procedure to the level of the rulemaking procedure, which primarily implies the transparency and openness of the latter. Conversely, Continental Europe did not develop a general theory of public participation which could provide a basis for the search for solutions to the situation. The purpose of this paper is to present different concepts of the rulemaking procedure and discuss the question of public participation. We conclude that, as the quantity and complexity of societal relationships grow, it is fruitful to use the so-called problem-solving model of the rulemaking procedure as a starting point for its procedural arrangement. This allows us to focus on the role that civil society, interest groups and the general public play in the contemporary governance process.