Legal Perspective of the New Local Government Law – New Challenges or Lack of Democracy

Description

1 July 2021 came into force of the new administrative-territorial reform provided for merging 119 municipalities and composing new municipalities out of them. At the moment there are in Latvia 43 municipalities. It means the enlargement of municipalities and at the same time decreasing in representatives from local communities. As a result, the local government is moving away from the population and becoming estranged. On 1 January 2023 coming into force, the Local Governments law implements a new institution - the council of residents. The law also states rules of establishment and competence of councils. On 1 January 2023 coming into force, the Local Governments law has been implemented a new institution - the council of residents. The purpose of the research is to examine the council of residents compliance with the principles of a democratic state.. The study evaluates legal acts, case - law, and conclusions of research papers. It uses general scientific and legal research methods, as well as methods for interpreting legal norms.. True democracy demands considering the interests of the population. Analyzing the impact of the principle of subsidiarity on the procedure of a decision-making process it is possible to conclude that this way can involve a higher number of inhabitants in the governance of state issues. Thus, it gives a chance to identify the needs of a community.. By reducing the representation of residents in the local councils, the council of residents should serve as a compensatory mechanism.Unlike the municipal council, it is a collective advisory institution with limited competence and is recognized as one sort of inhabitant participation.The council of residents cannot substitute the local government of the local community and it is necessary to scrutiny the practice of performing the mentioned provisions keeping a focus on the aim of representative democracy.

Period	29 Mar 2023
Event title	RSU Research week 2023: PLACES
Event type	Conference
Conference number	3
Organiser	Rīga Stradiņš University
Location	Rīga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International