Public Participation in Environmental Decision Making in Romania

This article researches the manner in which the participation pillar from the Aarhus Convention was transposed into Romanian legislation and how its provisions were applied to a highly controversial case. Thus, the paper will firstly address the general legal framework concerning participation in environmental matters as well as the challenges for the implementation of Aarhus Convention, followed by requirements for effective participation and NGOs involvement in the process. The main conclusion drawn is that public participation is generally seen only as a bureaucratic requirement that both authorities and the developer must meet before the project is adopted. In this context, the NGOs play a crucial role by acting as a real watchdog in identifying deficiencies in the application of the Convention. In order for enhancing implementation the authors emphasize the more proactive role that public authorities should have both with regard to the quality of environmental reports and with applying sanctions coupled with a stronger cooperation with the NGOs in the field.    

Access to public information - western european experiences and the case of several jurisdictions from Central and Eastern Europe

Dacian Dragos¸ 1999-ben szerzett mesterdiplomát államigazgatásból, majd három évre rá a Babes Bolyai Egyetemen PhD-fokozatot közigazgatási jogból. Jelenleg a román Közigazgatási Minisztérium tanácsadója, a román közigazgatási törvénykönyv szerkesztõbizottságának elnöke és a Babes Bolyai Egyetem államigazgatási tanszékének egyetemi docense. A cikk hosszasan taglalja a közigazgatás átláthatóságát, kiváltképpen a közérdekû információkhoz való hozzájutást. Az európai tapasztalatok nagyon különbözõek e téren. A skála az évszázadok óta nyitott kormányzást folytató országoktól (pl.: Svédország) az olyan demokráciákig (pl.: Egyesült Királyság) terjed, ahol csak mostanában fogadták el és alkalmazzák a kormányzati szférát érintõ, liberalizált információ-szolgáltatást. Ez a téma az új közép- és kelet- európai demokráciák esetében még inkább fontos, ahol a modern államigazgatási rendszer létrehozása során fõ kihívásként jelent meg a nyitottság kérdése. A tanulmány bemutatja az információs rendszerek liberalizáltságát néhány európai uniós ország jogrendszerében és Romániában. Minden Közép-Európában újonnan létrejött demokrácia hasonló problémákkal került szembe, mégpedig a kormányzat átláthatóságának és nyitottságának hiányával. Sajnos a nyugati országok gyakorlata nem ad kész mintát az új demokráciáknak e téren, mivel ezen országokban a közérdekû információkhoz való hozzájutás irányításában sajátságos problémák merülnek fel. Mindamellett a nyugati társadalmakban hangsúlyosabb a civil szféra részvétele a közügyekben. A szerzõ végezetül egy információs biztosi poszt létrehozását javasolja, ami pozitív hatást gyakorolna a jogszabályok megismerése és ér- telmezése tekintetében, amivel hozzájárulna ahhoz, hogy megszûnjön az információnak "titokként" való besorolása. --------- The article dwells on the issue of transparency in public administration, particular- ly the free access to public information. The European experience in this matter is very different, ranging from countries with centuries of openness in government, like Swe- den, to democracies which have adopted only recently freedom of information provi- sions (United Kingdom). The issue is even more important in new democracies from Central and Eastern Europe, where the transition to a modern public administration faces also challenges regarding openness. Taking into account all these realities, the study presents the state of the art of the freedom of information regime in several juris- dictions from European Union and in Romania

Reusing Public Sector Information - Policy Choices and Experiences in some of the Member States with an emphasis on the Case of Romania

The paper addresses the issue of the commercial reuse of public sector information (PSI) and analyzes from a comparative perspective various reuse regimes to be considered by national legislators. Directive 2003/98/EC provides at the EU level the policy context in which the Member States operate with regard to reuse.The paper has a threefold structure: The first section discusses mainly theoretical issues regarding the establishment of a PSI reuse model and tries to highlight several alternatives countries have and how a certain alternative influences the growth and future development of the PSI market; the second section analyzes the provisions of the Directive 2003/98/EC on PSI reuse and discusses how this Directive was transposed into national legislation by some of its 'older' members; Finally, the third part focuses on the case of Romania and provides an in-depth analysis of the provisions of the reuse law. It tries to highlight practical challenges and ways in which they could be overcome.transparency; access to documents; directives; law; political science; public administration; Romania; U.K.; Belgium; France

Transparency in Public Administration: Free Access to Public Information. A Topical Comparative Analysis of Several Jurisdictions from Central and Eastern Europe

Many expected freedom of information laws to be among the first priorities of the new governments of countries in transition after the 1989 changes, but instead there was little public pressure to adopt general sunshine laws relating to all categories of information. After adopting the laws, however, there are still many powerful forces that are working against extensive access to information – they can be static - opaque administrative practices, general inaptitude or the lack of sufficient human and material resources - or active – agents that resist openness due to private interests, or agents that use institutional scenarios to prevent public scrutiny over corruption and incompetence. The paper approaches the jurisdictions from Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Romania, emphasising aspects like: different models in regulating freedom of information regimes, obstacles in the implementation of the law, public bodies that should apply the law, timeframes, etc<em>.</em

The Rise and Evolution of Freedom of Information Legal Regime in the European Union

The article presents the struggle for openness in the European Union and the establishment of regulations regarding freedom of information in the activity of European institutions. The issue of public access to documents held by European institutions was taken into consideration rather late, strangely enough considering the experience of some member states, like Sweden, which has freedom of information regime in place since the 18th century.</p

A Comparative Perspective on National Policies Addressing Genetically Modified Organisms. How Does the Us - European Union Debate on this Topic Affect Other Countries?

<p>The paper explores the topic of genetically modified organisms (hereafter GMOs) and focuses on national and international regulatory approaches to this field. The analysis herein addresses a multitude of interconnected issues on GMOs as the authors’ intention is to explain how a policy problem that is environmental in nature can generate debates and consequences that go beyond the realm and scope of environmental policy. Each of the sections of the paper could be expanded into an autonomous paper. The discussion herein is framed using a comparative case study analysis. The US domestic policy on GMOs1 is contrasted against the EU policy. These two domestic policies are relevant as they represent the two main contemporary approaches to how GMOs are to be regulated. Furthermore, the clash between the two powers with regard to GMOs is described and explained. Its relevance stems from the profound consequences it generates within the international arena.</p><p>[1 US decision makers have long supported a <em>laissez fair </em>approach with regard to GMOs, with regulatory governmental agencies playing a minimal role. The laissez fair attitude can be considered a public policy in light of the definition of this concept: “a public policy is what governments decide to do or not to do”.]</p

Public-Private Arbitration in Romanian Law

The article endeavors to introduce the constitutional and statutory framework for arbitration in Romania, whilst discussing the dilemmatic legislative provisions allowing for public entities to become parties in an arbitration dispute. It includes a discussion of the concept of administrative contracts in Romania and a chronological analysis of the evolution of public-private arbitration under administrative contracts. Some of the landmark Romanian public-private arbitrations under international investment treaties have held the public agenda in recent years and they shape the public debate on arbitration as fit for purpose when it comes to public contracts.</p

Posibile sisteme de justiție administrativă - Examen de drept comparat

The article presents the main models of administrative justice, the differences between them and the importance of chosing one or another. Romania, being engaged in a proces of modernisation of the national administration, has to take care also of the means to control the administration, the most important of which is the judicial control of administrative decisions. Over the years, two systems have struggled for supremacy in administrative justice: the French system, characterized by the existence of the administrative courts, separate from the judicial courts, and the British system, where all law suits, including the administrative ones, are judged by judicial courts.</p